Stereotyping Uchiha's
by EWHH its Kenna
Summary: /SasuSaku/ /AU/ Without a defined relationship, they were just one too many shades of grey.
1. Take 1: Uchiha's are All So—

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Naruto.

**Author's Note**: I made a promise to you guys that I would edit this story at some point. And, well...that some point is here. Represent.

* * *

**Stereotyping Uchihas**

Hello! Mr. Grumpy and Mrs. Dopey!

* * *

Raven locks flipped into the wind as deep, mysterious onyx eyes fluttered gracefully. The world spun off its axis the moment the boy whipped his hair into the wind, massaging it back with the palm of his right hand. He looked directly into the camera, a blank expression was plastered on his face; however, it ever so slowly was beginning to filter into a sly, seductive look.

Smirk.

**-FLASH!-**

(**Sasuke Uchiha. Noun.**

1. An arrogant asshole whose ego was comparable to that of the entire populous.

2. The type of man who has the ability to degrade a dictionary of a million-bajillion-fahfillion words to a _maximum_ of ten.

3. The Devil himself—in shining armor, of course. Too handsome for society; too possessive for his own good; and, too intelligent for the average person.

4. A boy who has the arrogance to sardonically tease a certain Haruno—especially her lack in height.

5. An Uchiha.

6. Unbeknownst to him, he is _horrendous _at flirting.

7. Childhood friend—or if I may be so bold to add, lover—of Haruno Sakura.

-x-

She pushed her petal pink hair back, both hands sinking through the wispy locks; her large, innocent emerald eyes shone under the rays of sunshine, while long lashes cascaded thick shadows down her blushed cheeks. She formed a "V" with her pointer and middle finger. As she closed her right eye, she simultaneously stuck out her small, red tongue from her parted lips.

Wink!

**-FLASH!-**

(**Sakura Haruno. Noun.**

1. A very attractive female who seems to captivate the prodigal sons of Uchiha Fugaku.

2. The type of girl that is the tip-toe kiss "_Kodak Moment_" height; which, for some odd reason, she gets _way_ too many jokes about.

3. A high-tempered, conniving girl who is able to manipulate anyone—unbeknownst to her.

4. One word: "annoying."

5. An over-reactive girl who doesn't quite understand innuendos and reacts to everything brashly.

6. The three "I's": innocent, ignorant, insensitive.

7. Childhood friend—or, if I may be so bold to add, lover—of Uchiha Sasuke.)

* * *

Sweat began forming on the blond-haired boy's forehead while he groaned. Moving his body, his cerulean orbs glanced beyond the ceiling and managed to spare a glare at the scathing sun. With the back of his left hand, Naruto wiped the drip of sweat and started to moan. With a high pitched tone, he whined, "Man, it's hot out here, eh?"

To his dismay, he received no response. Sending his focus back to his friends, Naruto marveled at the sight: Sasuke with his arms across his chest, pouting and glaring at Sakura; Sakura gripping the center pole as though it were her only sanctity for survival; and, Sai smiling like a fool, vacantly—creepily—staring at all three of them in intervals of two minutes per person.

A sheepish grin plastered itself on Naruto's lips. "Sakura-chan, come on!" He exclaimed, "get off that pole!"

Sasuke's eyes averted from the shaken girl to the laughing blond, a heinous glare present. Naruto's mouth pursed when he noticed the twitch at the corner of Sasuke's left eye.

Sakura finally opened her eyes to stare indifferently at her friend. "Naruto!" She yelled, rage in her tone. Her right hand relieved its grip on the pole, readying a fist to attack the blond boy.

Sakura _despised_ innuendos. Why?

-x-

(_Inn-u-en-do_

[IN-YOUR-END-OHH]

**Number 1**: Sakura could never really quite grasp the concept of what most innuendos implied.  
**Number 2**: They're absolutely immature.  
**Number 3**: She found them appalling.)

-x-

Sasuke's lips parted as he scoffed, "Tch. There's no need to put Sakura in the same category as Hinata."

Naruto jumped up in anger and threw his fists into the air. In doing so, however, caused the gondola to shake violently from side to side, and, in result, caused Sakura to scream in terror. There was a pause in which all three boys regarded Sakura's terror with worry, before they returned to their argument.

"Shut up, bastard. Hinata-chan's not a stripper!" Naruto yelled, readying himself to stalk up to the Uchiha. As he rose his foot to move, Sai grabbed the bottom of his shirt.

"There's no need to scare the banshee anymore." Sai smiled, "It would be awfully painful to hear her shriek again."

Without hesitation, a dark voice entered the conversation. "Sai, if you _dare_ insult me again," she took a deep breath, "I will rip out your spinal cord and beat you with it." Sakura then opened her emerald eyes to stare at the boy.

Sai's pleasant smile remained composed. "Your response only validates my theory of you being unattractive. With those burly arms of yours and those ant-hill tits, you indubitably _do_ have the strength to rip out my spine and beat me with it."

"Sai," Naruto warned. He was always reluctant to experience Sakura's wrath. Somehow, he was always the target or caught up in the cross-fire; and, even though she has a petite figure, she could sure hit hard.

"But I don't have to worry about that," Sai smiled sweetly. "I'm sure your looks will be the death of me."

Sakura twitched, her delicate fingers forming into a vice-like grip on the pole as her knuckles turned white. All of a sudden, Sakura smiled beautifully at him—though her eyes were still trying to set him on fire; in response, Sai's smile slightly faltered.

She grinned, her features stunning in the light. A slight giggle escaped her lips, and her fingers lessened their strength on the cold metal. "I'll castrate that small penis of yours one day."

A soft, velvet chuckle escaped the Uchiha's lips, and Sakura felt as though she were drowning in the chocolate his tone was laced with. "How…annoying." Sasuke breathed, lifting a finger to his temple. He moved his finger in a few circles before letting out a sight.

Sai interjected in the middle of the Uchiha's thoughts as he mentioned, "I can assure you, Sakura, that my penis is not small."

Sasuke twitched, his hand bumping against the side of the railing in surprise; Naruto slightly gaped, astonished at Sai's unusual forwardness. "Sai," Naruto whispered, ignored.

"What a _lie." _Sakura challenged.

Sasuke interrupted, softly with an annoyed voice, "Sakura…" It was a warning; it was ignored.

Sai shrugged, pausing for a moment to collect his thoughts. "I can prove it."

Sakura laughed, dryly.

"Present it."

There was a moment of contemplation that everyone reveled in, now realizing the seriousness of the ongoing conversation. Sai's hands began moving towards his short's zipper when he then looked up at all three of them. "I will when I don't have these two waiting apprehensively to see my dick…" He assured her.

Sakura shrugged then, uncaringly and glanced at Sasuke. Her eyes locked with his, both of their expressions rather bored and their eyes blank. She smiled.

Sasuke responded to her with a casual grunt. He didn't look away.

"I'm not gay, Sai!" Naruto growled.

Abruptly, Sakura, still gripping the pole, stood up. Turning towards Naruto, she let the pole go with one of her hands, and she hit Naruto on the crown of his head. "And, that's for implying I was a _stripper_! How _dare_ you." Sakura growled, her hand returning to the pole.

"Ow!" Naruto cried, "B-But—Sakura-chan, I know you're not a stripper! Though you'd be a hot one…" Sakura jerked at his statement, glaring, while Naruto grinned for a moment at the fantasy. "Anyways, why don't you punch that bastard!" Naruto pointed at Sai, pouting.

Sakura thought. "He's too far away."

"Y-You should at least kiss my b…boo-boo for that Sakura-chan. That wasn't fair!" Naruto whimpered as his hand began stroking the growing bump on his forehead. He feigned an exaggerated wince in pain—though it did hurt…a lot.

Sasuke snidely remarked, "Life's not fair, moron. Deal with it."

Sakura looked back up at Naruto, her apple-green orbs lustrous with the empathetic feeling of concern. Sakura smiled and puckered her rosy lips, "Come here, _Naruto_. Let me give you a _big_ kiss so you can forgive me for being _oh so_ brash."

"You dumbass," Sasuke scowled at Naruto, simultaneously grabbing the pink-headed girl from kissing the boy in front of him. "Sakura, don't touch that. You don't know where it's been." He then sent a competitive smirk at Naruto. His grip on Sakura fell to her waist as he pulled her towards his seat.

She refused to sit down.

Sakura tried to stifle her giggles, but failed. "Sasuke, that's mean!"

"Bastard!" Naruto yelled out in anger. Naruto was moving around rapidly in the gondola, causing it to slight swing from side to side. "Want to say that again?"

There was a tug at the corner of the Uchiha's lips as it formed into a smug smirk. "Sure," he said, lazily, "I'll say it as many times as you want me to." It was the radiance of arrogance that made Naruto leap up into the air.

"You are such a _tool_!" Naruto shouted.

"Naruto," Sakura cautioned. "STOP MOVING," she screamed in sheer fear of the [unlikely] possibility that the gondola was going to do a complete flip. Sakura struggled out of Sasuke's grip, making it back to the center of the gondola within seconds. Her arms hugged the pole and she buried her head between her arms.

She cried, "I just want to live."

"Dumbass," Sasuke remarked to Naruto while massaging the back of his pained neck.

"Sasuke," Sakura hissed, "_please_ stop antagonizing him."

There was a moment of silence where Sasuke and Sakura stared at each other; neither of them willing to give up their stance on whether or not Sasuke was allowed to antagonize Naruto. Sasuke sighed and shrugged, "Whatever. I'd rather not deal with such _stupid_ conversations, anyways." Even after Sasuke had given up, they continued to mindlessly stare at each with realization.

Naruto stared at Sasuke for a moment before looking towards Sakura, who was still holding onto the pole. A sheepish grin appeared at the thought that Sasuke was _listening_ to Sakura. "So whipped," Naruto muttered under his breath, hoping that the Uchiha didn't hear his snide remark.

"I agree, Naruto," Sai said, looking at the blond, "Sasuke _is_ very whipped."

Reality jolted back into Sasuke's consciousness, and he sent a psychotic glare towards the two boys in front of them. Sasuke, however, said nothing.

It was in this moment that Naruto finally realized that Sasuke's glares had the ability to suck out a person's soul. It was absolutely terrifying.

"You two are so cute!" Naruto exclaimed, trying to wander away from the concept of provoking the Uchiha. "Does little Sasuke-kun have a crush on my Sakura-chan?" Even when he would put together all of his efforts, Naruto was never one that was able to determine good conversation starters.

He scoffed, "Yours?"

"Did you mishear me, bastard?

"Shut up, moron." Sasuke scowled, his glare lightening a bit from his previous one. The Uchiha quickly decided to avert his glance towards the outside, staring at the fairgrounds below them.

In the depths of his mind, Sasuke reluctantly knew and waited for Naruto to continue the subject; Naruto never did have a grasp on understanding the social "norms" of conversation. Sasuke waited for Naruto's next approach about Sakura.

"Just admit it, Sasuke." Naruto grinned, "You want _my_, Sakura-chan."

"This is stupid," Sasuke spat with annoyance, his body and face still looking outside of the hovering cart. "Whatever."

Sakura looked up at Naruto, then at Sasuke—the tension was rather uncomforting.

Naruto looked at Sasuke, slightly perturbed at his response. "You aren't denying it."

Sakura looked towards Sai, trying to avoid being placed in the middle of their conversation. She watched as Sai's black hair flew with the crisp wind, and how his smile had never seemed to waver the entire ride.

There was a shake on the gondola as the Ferris wheel seemed to have reached the very top, presenting a full-view sight of the fairgrounds below them.

Suddenly Sai's black eyes met her emeralds and his lips slightly parted. Her breathed for a moment, his lips still curved upwards, and he spoke, "Why are you staring at me, ugly?"

"You're sitting directly in front of me, Sai. Where the hell else am I supposed to look?" Sakura deadpanned, trying her best to ignore his previous insult.

"I'm sure you were just fantasizing that you were attractive, like me." Sai chuckled.

Sakura groaned. "You are…" she stood up, ready to pounce on the boy, "…so obnoxious," her fist was now forming and both of her hands left the pole, "Sai—!

She felt the Uchiha behind her take hold of the bottom of her shirt. "Sasuke!" Sakura playfully whined, disheartened at his constant interruptions from her attacking her friends.

"What?" Sasuke smirked.

He yanked at her, causing her to fall away from the center's pole and onto his lap. She screamed in surprise and anger, "Let me back, Sasuke!" She was absolutely frightened of the death-defying height that she was currently at; and, between Sasuke and the pole, she had already decided which one she believe to be more safe—the pole.

The girl on top of him began struggling, trying to free herself from him. In aggravation, he shuffled underneath her, trying to find a more suitable position. "Sakura," Sasuke breathed. Sakura ignored him and continued to wiggle on his lap.

"S-Stop…moving." Sasuke muttered, tightening his hold on the girl to where she could construct any form of action. "You might tip the gondola if you keep moving," he lied. She shuddered at the thought and her movements completely froze, her entire body stiff with trepidation.

He chuckled inwardly chuckle at how easy it was to manipulate her.

Naruto grinned as he watched Sasuke's and Sakura's interaction. "Sakura-chan, he's lying to you. He just wants you on his lap; but, I think you should keep moving. You could probably manage to get back to the safe pole if you do."

"Naruto," Sasuke muttered, venom underling the name. There was a small tinge of red that formed onto Sasuke's cheeks. "I hate you." He closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath.

Sakura turned her head to face Sasuke and sent him an evil glare; then, she spitefully started to struggle in his lap even more, moving and twisting around on top of him. She squeaked, however, when his hands tightened even further around her waist, causing her to stiffen once again.

In reaction, she tried to crawl off the Uchiha with more perseverance than before.

Sasuke warned, once again, wincing, "Sakura."

"Sakura-chan, I think you're almost free!" Naruto cheered on, antagonizing Sasuke and encouraging Sakura. Naruto certainly did love torturing Sasuke; but, in the back of his mind, Naruto believed that blue-balling the Uchiha was a little too mean—even if he _did_ deserve it…

Sakura gave Naruto the most innocent, tempting look that man could ever conceive. "Naruto, _please _help me. I'm just trying to get off!"

"So is he, Sakura-chan." He flashed a toothy grin. "So is he."

Sakura gave him a confused look.

"Naruto…" Sasuke hissed, his eyes turning murderous. Regardless of the Uchiha's composure seeming normal, there was a hint of embarrassment when Sasuke's eyebrows softly rose up and his eyes slightly widened.

"U-Um." Naruto stuttered, seeing just how _pissed_ his friend was.

"Shut the fuck up," Sasuke stated, "now."

"Stop scowling like that, Sasuke." Sakura suggested, a wonderful smile gracing her lips, "it's really unattractive."

Sasuke raised a brow, his interest slightly kindled by her insult. He smirked against her pink hair, and his lips finally came down next to the shell of her right ear. "You should stop being so annoying, Sakura," Sasuke's hot breath tickled softly as he spoke, "it's _extremely_ unattractive."

Sakura paused, not knowing whether to determine his previous statement as an insult or a compliment her. She knew he was trying to flirt with her; but, it seemed that the Uchiha clan wasn't very prestigious in flirting. Her mouth slightly dropped at how horrible he was at it. _Horrible_.

"I'm so glad your vernacular is as eloquent and as well-rounded as Naruto's." She giggled, before sarcastically mentioning, "You're a savant of words, Sasuke. Really."

He chuckled and leaned in against her back yet again, closing any previous gaps that had been between them. Closing his eyes, he breathed in the soft smell of her pink locks—coconut and lime. A beam of amusement flickered in his eyes.

"You don't even know the beginning of it."

-x- **N A R U T O** -x-

She swore she would kill the next person she saw, if she survived this ride. She would go on a murder spree, the first ones being Naruto, Sasuke, and Sai. She would rip them apart and donate their body for medical experiments. She would do anything she could to put them in the same pain that she had just put her in.

The moment they strapped her into the chair, she was assure she had lost sanity.

_Up. Up. Up. Up. Up. Up. Up._

She didn't even realize she was holding her breath. "I absolutely hate you, Sasuke." Sakura mumbled softly, scared to expend any of her breath.

"Hn."

She gasped, "And you're alright with me _hating_ you?"

He grunted in response. "Aa."

"None of you even sat next to me! Everyone's so mean!" Sakura whined. "You just _had_ to sit on the other side." She sniffled, "Now I can't see you, plus I can't rip off your hand when we fall."

Sasuke almost felt bad about how drastic her emotions were at the moment. He couldn't doubt the fact that she might end up crying by the end of this ride. He _loathed_ when she cried.

He probably should have sat next to her, now that he began replaying the scenarios that had previously occurred. When they go to the tower ride, there weren't many seats left; and, none of them were even next to each other. The only ones that were relatively close were two corner seats—one on the far left side facing the east; one on the far right side facing the west. So, technically, they _were_ sitting next to each other, they were just facing different ways.

But, Sasuke was never really one to argue about semantics.

She didn't open her eyes to glare at him, but there was no doubt that she wanted to. She pleaded, "Why are you guys doing this to me? You know I am terrified of heights!" Her fingers were clasped around the restraints, and her legs were shaking as the tower kept bringing the riders higher and higher into the air, slower and slower.

"I didn't talk you into it." Sasuke shrugged, "anyways, your fear is completely illogical. Get over it."

"It's not just something I can _'get over_!'" Sakura snarled.

_Up. Up. Up. Up. Up. Up. Up._

"God, how high can this possibly go up!" Sakura breathed, not looking for an answer. She despised that the higher the ride went, the slower it went; then, she was mortified in anticipation for the indubitable drop that was surely coming soon. Too bad she didn't know when.

Sasuke looked at her, from the corner and brushed a strand of pink bangs away from her face. "You're annoying." He remarked. He didn't mean for it to be insulting, per se; but, there wasn't much redemption for his statement regardless.

Sakura's eyes snapped open and she spun her head directly towards Sasuke. There was a fire in her eyes, the same one he saw earlier when she readied herself to murder Sai. "_What_?" Sakura asked, her tone lathered with fake innocence.

Sasuke knew better, but he didn't care. "Hn."

"Oh god." Sakura's eyes snapped shut, once again, when she felt the jolt of the ride. The movements had finally stopped and she was sitting about 200 feet in the air. She couldn't think of anything that could make her life any worse.

"You…talk too much."

It wasn't Sasuke's voice this time that made Sakura open her eyes. This voice was too smooth, too rich and velvety for Sasuke's; Sasuke's was more hoarse and always had that tinge of annoyance in it.

"Excuse me?"

"I'm sure that you heard me the first time," he responded, his tone never once changing from its previous seductive one.

She looked over at the man to her left and gasped. The snide remarks, the attractive appearance, the arrogance he radiated…surely this man's surname was Uchiha.

Sakura's breath hitched, this man was undeniably gorgeous. "And, you are..?"

The man looked exactly like Sasuke, give or take a few characteristics. At sitting height, Sakura could tell that he was quite a few inches taller than the young Uchiha. She also took note of two unusual lines that defined each side of his nose. It was something that she assumed was supposed to borderline a beauty mark.

She blushed, embarrassed and flustered at how attractive the man before her was.

"Uchiha Itachi."

"Sasuke's—"

He nodded, cutting her off. "Yes."

Sakura's eyes narrowed for a minute due to his audacity to cut her off. "Rather rude to cut someone off," Sakura mentioned, sneakily, "I guess it's just a common characteristic, a flaw, I suppose, of the Uchiha clan."

Itachi chuckled, raising a brow. "And, it's rather rude not to respond with your own name, as well."

Sakura laughed, blissfully ignorant of the impending drop that was now counting down to its last minute. "I suppose we're at a stalemate," Sakura mentioned, sighing. "Haruno Sakura."

Itachi's eyes narrowed for a moment, staring her down. _Sakura…_ Was this the same girl that his brother had taken a liking to? Itachi went silent, his mind wondering about the girl beside him. The girl beside him was rather cute and her personality was brash, yet clever. One thing that he wouldn't forget, though, was how captivating her emerald eyes were.

Sakura felt the seats below her jolt about two inches before they paused for a quick moment. Sakura looked down in utter shock, realizing that she was on the ride and it was readying to drop. "Um," she began to panic. "S-Sasuke."

Her voice was trembling. "I going to die."

"I never knew you had such an attractive girlfriend, Sasuke." Itachi mused aloud, smirking. He would cherish every opportunity he had to put his younger brother on the spotlight, and irritate him. Itachi usually wasn't much for teasing and being playful; but, when life presents him with such an easy target, then its sometimes too hard to deny.

"Itachi? What the hell are you doing here?" Sasuke questioned, slightly perturbed that his older brother was at the fair. It didn't make much sense to Sasuke at all; and, Sasuke didn't like the idea of not knowing what his brother was up to.

"She's _not_ my girlfriend," Sasuke spat.

Sakura twisted her head, slightly taken aback from how vindictive Sasuke was about his statement. "I didn't know you were that offended by me," she shot back angrily, there was something akin to hurt in her voice as well.

"Oh, really now?" Itachi responded coolly, regarding his brother's proclamation, but ignoring his question. "Well, it's a shame that you haven't taken up such an opportunity yet."

"You've got to be kidding me." Sasuke growled in frustration. He lifted his right hand and massaged it through his locks, pulling his bangs back and letting out a loud sigh. Everyone was out to aggravate him today; and, now Sakura was going to be upset with him.

Just his luck.

_Down_!

A desperate gasp escaped from the pump petals of Sakura's lips, "Aah!" She couldn't manage to make any other noise, her entire body winded and numb. The entity of her was so haphazardly disheveled that she was unsure of when the drop started; when she grabbed onto whatever, or whoever, she grabbed onto; and, when she returned to land.

Itachi raised a brow when he felt the girl's head dig into his right shoulder and her arms wrap around his complementing arm. He disregarded her and chuckled at the hateful glare that Sasuke was sending him. Itachi chuckled lightly and stole one last glance at the head of pink that leaned against him.

He smirked.

Sakura finally lifted her head when she felt Sasuke touch the small of her back. "Sakura…" Sasuke mumbled. When the girl finally let go and lifted her head up, her mouth fell slightly ajar. Sasuke shoved his hands in his pockets and looked away from her, focusing on his older brother.

"I'm sorry, Itachi-san," Sakura apologized, embarrassed. "I'm terrified of heights, as you've probably noticed."

Itachi nodded. "No need for apologies, or formalities, Sakura."

An elegant smile started to form on Sakura's lips; a slight pink coloring began to scatter throughout her cheeks.

Sasuke scowled, noticing Sakura's behavior. He would not allow his brother to flirt with Sakura—it was completely unacceptable.

"Why are you here?"

Itachi shrugged and tilted his direction to a group of men and a couple women. "I enjoy the fair."

Itachi sent a catatonic look to Sasuke, but a smirk presented itself on his lips. "What other reasons would I have for being here, Sasuke?" In that statement, Sasuke could tell there was something hidden, some ulterior motive to why his older brother was here, right beside him and Sakura.

He imperceptibly eyed the Uchiha.

It was official. Sasuke despised his older brother.

-x- **N A R U T O** -x-

Sakura, nauseous and discontent, had been thrown over Sasuke's shoulders as they continued to walk around the fairgrounds. "Please no more height rides…" Sakura begged. Her voice was so soft and shaken, that it was almost impossible to be able to comprehend what she had just tried to say.

_Drip._

Maybe she had vertigo—it wasn't normal to be this affected from a simple ride. _How childish_. Sasuke thought. He hadn't said much since they had left the last ride, his mind still focused on the interaction between him, Sakura, and his brother. He didn't like the way that Itachi was speaking with Sakura. It was almost as though his brother was…_interested_ in Sakura. The way that he subtly flirted with her, the way that he casually stole glances at her, and the way that he kept questioning Sasuke about his relationship with her—all of it was, per se…unnerving.

_Drip._

"Gahh!" Sakura groaned.

_Drip._

The raindrops were heavy and beginning to fall at a steadier and steadier pace, quickening within the short moments they were outside.

_Drip._

"Sasuke, give me that…"_thing_," so I can use her as an umbrella." Sai demanded, his hand outstretched towards the Uchiha. In response, Sasuke stopped in his tracks and took a moment to respond.

Sasuke snorted and sent a glare towards Sai. "Go fuck yourself," he deadpanned as he began to pick his pace back up to a fast walk. If he was caught in the rain after having to deal with his brother _and_ Sai trying to flirt with Sakura, and having Sakura still be mad at him, he was going to snap.

"Sasuke," Naruto offered, "Sai and I are going to go grab cover and booze if you guys want to come." The blond boy waved his hands, beckoning for the two to join the boys.

"I have rides I still want to go on!"

Sasuke paused for a moment and turned around, shaking his head at Naruto. "We'll just meet up with you later." He readjusted her on his back and began walking again towards their next ride.

"Sasuke-kun," Sakura mumbled, her lips touching the nape of his neck. He didn't know if it was from the rain, or if her lips were simply wet; but, they feeling of her lips on his neck was breath-taking. He faltered in step, before catching himself and regaining his composure. She was ready to thank him for taking her wants into account—it wasn't a typical occurrence; therefore, she would appreciate it thoroughly.

He could feel her hot breath against his naked skin, he slightly shuddered. "Hn?" He responded, jerking her up so he could readjust his hold on her. Her arms around his neck and legs around his hips tightened in result.

Alright, so she was going to thank him; but, she can only take so much of his aggravating responses, or, should she call them grunts? Sakura gave an irritated sigh, "Tch, Uchihas."

"'Uchihas?'" Sasuke frowned and twisted his head a bit to gain sight of her on his back. "What is that supposed to mean?" He asked, genuinely curious of what she could possibly say about his clan.

She shrugged. "From all of the Uchihas I have met so far, I have come to the conclusion…"

Sasuke laughed, "what Uchihas have you possibly met so far?" There was a small amount of surprise in his tone. He knew that he hadn't really introduced her to much of his family members; he didn't really deem it necessary that he did.

"Well, I've met Itachi, Shisui, Izuna, Obito, and Madara." Sakura said, counting on her fingers. "I've met your mother too, but I can tell she isn't the parent that was born Uchiha."

"You've met all of them?" He was honestly bewildered at how many Uchihas she had known—especially how significant each one was in his clan. "Why?"

She ignored him, before continuing. With a smile and a nod, she returned to her previous thought process, "Mmm! As I was saying, before you _rudely_ interrupted was that the Uchiha's have specific traits that can distinguish them from all others. This meaning that you all are generally the same person…with probably at the _most_…two differences."

"Oh?" Sasuke asked, amusement in his town. He frowned when he felt a raindrop hit him directly above the bridge of his nose. The drop spread and melted into his eyes, his vision becoming more and more opaque.

"For example," Sakura began, "You have degraded a dictionary of thousands and thousands of words to a maximum of ten. It's very unoriginal, actually—very un-entertaining, too. Then all of you generally look the same, with a few _minor_ differences. Uchiha's are very intelligent, yet complete assholes who think every galaxy in our universe revolves around them. Do you want me to keep going?"

Sasuke looked rather paranoid; but, he said nothing.

"I mean, _really_? The grunt '_hn_' is the best thing you can come up with?" Sakura exclaimed, throwing her hands into the air. "It's pretty creepy, anyways—really annoying, too."

"Sakura—!" Sasuke exclaimed, trying to warn her to bring her hands around his neck. However, she didn't notice, having forgotten that she had to hold onto Sasuke's neck to keep them both standing up. She slightly gasped when she felt Sasuke's body tilt backwards and begin a slow fall backwards, sending her backwards as well.

Sakura winced in pain when she felt Sasuke's wait topple above her. In efforts to lighten his fall, Sasuke had slightly spun around as to not fall on his back onto the girl. Resulting in their fall, Sakura was flushed against the ground, her short skirt slightly riding up the top of her thighs, her hair splattered around her almost like that of a halo, and eyes looking up at him with desperation to help her.

Sasuke, on the other hand, had managed to put most of the pressure of his fall into his forearms and palms of his hands. His legs were tangled with hers and his face hovered a mere few inches above hers. "Sakura," Sasuke mumbled, his bangs tickling her forehead as his face dipped a little lower.

He hated how tempting her lips looked in this very moment—slightly parted, extremely plump, and wet. His hot breath fanned her face and he watched in appeasement at the blush that was rushing to her cheeks.

"I can't believe you called _me_ annoying," he whispered, onyx eyes slightly narrowed.

"At least I grew up!" Sakura growled, "I'm not as annoying as _you_ are."

He snorted. His chuckle permeated the rain, echoing throughout her ear drums and sending their lightness and richness into the depths of her body. "Not vertically, that's for certain."

Sakura didn't reply; she was too embarrassed and too flustered and too shy to be able to focus on a witty response. "U-Um."

Sasuke's head dipped lower to her left ear and his breath fanned out into the locks of her hair, warmth dripping from him similar to that of the rain. "Stereotypes for Sakura..?"

Sakura had noticed that the entire time they had been in their position, Sasuke didn't try to move out of it. She shied away from his mouth, her head leaning the opposite way. "W-What?"

"Vertically challenged."

Sakura gasped, "that is so mean! I'm not _that_ short, first off; and, secondly, I have the perfect tip-toe kiss "_Kodak Moment_" height—something that _many_ girls are jealous of, thank you very much." Her tone was matter-of-fact and she beamed at him with indignation; her look turned dour when she saw the amused expression playing on his lips.

Sasuke paused and gave her a questioning look, a large smirk plastered on his lips. "Oh really?"

Sakura blushed even further and looked down, her vision focusing on exactly how close their bodies were. "Shut up," she mumbled.

"Annoying, too." He chuckled, "also…extremely high-tempered."

He finally shifted after saying this, using his strength to bring his body back up. He looked down at the muddled girl below him, shook his head, and then offered a hand to help her up. "Come on," Sasuke demanded, beckoning for her to grab onto his hand.

She did.

In the moment of pulling her up, Sakura's body went into a state which felt similar to free-fall, as her body collided against his. Sasuke's hands wrapped around the small of her back, clenching her waist as though she were to disappear, and he slightly lifted her up—onto her tip-toes.

He finally, swiftly, dipped down, capturing the corner of her lips. The kiss was so lightening fast, she believed that he was unsure of whether or not he was allowed to. Sakura's legs turned to jelly the moment his lips met hers, Sasuke now keeping both himself and herself up.

Sasuke pulled back abruptly, before either of them could deepen the kiss—the uncertainty of possibly doing any damage to his friend haunted him.

She couldn't think, her entire mind was jumbled. _Did… Did Sasuke just…kiss me?_

"Cute, too." Sasuke whispered under his breath, not caring to whether or not she heard his last comment.

"H-Huh?" Sakura was trying to regain her composure, too flustered and caught off guard to understand her life, or Sasuke. She averted her gaze from his eyes to look to the House of Mirrors next to them.

It was relatively empty.

"Just kidding," Sasuke murmured, shoving his hands in his pockets. Standing in front of her, he tilted his head back at an angle to gaze at her. He finally asked, "are you coming?"

"Wait.. —Sasuke!" Sakura finally managed to get out. She didn't know what to say anymore to avoid the subject of everything and anything that had just occurred; but, she doubted that Sasuke would bring it up either.

He kept walking. "What?"

"Don't leave me…" Sakura mumbled, beginning a faster walk to catch up to him.

He stopped, not turning around to look at her, and waited.

Sakura finally managed to catch up to him, walking at the same pace of her taller friend. "I better not get lost, Sasuke…" She grumbled at the House of Mirrors. "Those places are freaky."

They opened the rusted red door to the building and entered. As they entered the door, following the winding path, Sakura grabbed Sasuke's wrist. "This is a weird house…" Sakura mentioned, her hand squeezing Sasuke's wrist.

He sighed and readjusted her grip, placing her hand within his. Her monster strength wasn't the most pleasant thing, especially on his wrist; he would just have to make do with…holding hands. He scoffed inwardly at the thought.

They began ducking down as the ceiling shrunk lower and lower. Sakura giggled, abruptly breaking from his grasp and took a narrow door to her left.

Sasuke groaned at her antics; before, a sudden smirk played softly on his lips.

He always did enjoy hunting for his prey.

* * *

**End of Chapter 1.**

* * *

**Author's Note**: Reviews are appreciated! I like to hear your opinions, constructive criticisms, conversations, and input!

EWHH its Kenna


	2. Take 2: An Arranged Marriage!

**Disclaimer:**I don't own Naruto

**Author's Note**: My updates shouldn't take too long. It's summer bro. #yolo.

* * *

**Stereotyping Uchiha's.**

Surprise! You're on Candid Camera!

* * *

Sakura's footsteps reverberated throughout the new pathway she had entered. The room was relatively dark to where she had to strain her eye-sight just to assume any possible openings for escaping the dungeon of mirrors. Every so often, the illumination of sunlight that had managed to penetrate into the room would shine against a mirror.

She stared at her distorted reflection, almost in awe at how perturbed she appeared. Her long, slender fingers touched the mirror's glass as she continued to guide herself down the hallway. The glass was so cool beneath her fingertips, that it had caused her to shiver.

"Sasuke, you're so slow," she speculated. She frowned, thinking back to about twenty minutes ago—what exactly had occurred between them? Why did he…kiss her?

Did Sasuke actually…_like_ her?

No, it was probably spur of the moment. There was probably something that had made their actions completely accidental—she could have brought her weight on his stomach, causing him to lurch forward, and accidentally touch her lips with his own. That made sense, right?

Who knew?

Continuing her pace, she finally reached a fork in her pathway. Her breath hitched and suddenly she began to feel an unknown fear. What if she got lost in the mirrored house and Sasuke couldn't find her? She let go of the breath that she didn't realize she was holding, and, closing her eyes, she tried to relieve her nerves.

"Kya!" Sakura growled in pain. Her eyes snapped open and she rubbed her forehead. In doing so, she realized that she had walked straight into a mirror. She cursed at her ignorance and winced again in pain, as she stroked her throbbing forehead.

She pouted, "that really hurt."

Sakura felt a hot trickle of breath tickle the back of her neck.

She shivered. "My minds playing tricks on me," she scolded her naïve self.

"And, with that…she was caught."

"Ahh—Mmph!" Sakura screamed in pure terror. Sakura felt a hand clamp over her mouth and another hand wrap around her waist bringing her flush against the other person's body. She wriggled and struggled to get free of her captor.

She clawed at the hand that was covering her mouth, and managed to scream out with her last efforts: "Rape!"

There was a sigh behind her, "_idiot_."

"…asdfghjkl!" Sakura muffled through the small spaces of her captor's fingers. She continued to move around, trying to escape his grasp, before he finally let her go.

She went flying directly into a mirror.

"Sakura," she heard. She didn't hear the continuation of his statement, because she had, once again, bumped her forehead against the _damned_ mirror.

"Ow!" Said girl groaned, vigorously rubbing her forehead again. _Why is it always the forehead?_ She pouted again, before suddenly remembering her captor was directly behind her. She spun on the heel of her right foot, readying her fists. Even if she was going to get stolen, she sure as hell was going to fight with all of her might—

"Oh, Sasuke!" Sakura exclaimed in pure bliss.

"You should kiss my forehead, considering you _slammed_ me into that mirror!" Sakura giggled.

Sasuke gave her a peculiar look, and smirked. "Come here," Sasuke breathed, watching amusedly as Sakura began to sulk up to him. She tilted her head up so he would have easy access to kissing her forehead.

Suddenly, she felt his two forefingers poke her in the same sore spot. "I'm not going to stoop that low," Sasuke chuckled. "Your forehead's too big of a target."

"Sasuke!" Sakura whined, her forehead throbbing even more now. "It hurts even worse now!"

Sasuke's face began to dip even lower, his lips coming closer and closer to her plump petals. Her eyes were twitching, wanting to close so she could be enveloped in his impending kiss; however, she smiled hesitantly and turned towards the opposite direction. "Y-You're so weird, Sasuke," Sakura whimpered. Her lashes were still lowered, and they were streaking long shadows down her rosy cheeks.

Sasuke automatically stiffened at her change of topics, and he regained his stoic composure. Sasuke then groaned, "says the girl with _pink_ hair."

Sakura whined, defensively, "Hey!"

Sighing in exhaustion at the girl's tendencies, Sasuke ran a palm through his rigid, gravity-defying hair. She was childish—_too_ childish—and he didn't know what part of her he found even relatively attractive. He certainly was strange when it came to women, he supposed. "Aa," he acknowledged. His hands had retreated back to his pockets, and he was staring at her with a blank look. "…rape? Really?"

Sasuke shook his head. "You're so immature."

"It's a plausible hypothetical situation, actually, Sasuke," Sakura disagreed, "I mean, I'm extremely attractive, smart, and I have a wonderful personality—"

"Modest too, I see," Sasuke snidely remarked.

Sakura ignored him. "Whatever. Anyways, I've a very strong candidate for being a victim of rape—seriously."

"Tch, annoying."

"Why are you such a jackass? My life was on the line!" Sakura bellowed, putting her hands on her hips. She gave him a look of disdain, her emerald eyes narrowed further than he was used to seeing when she glared.

"Hn…" He paused, thinking, "you shouldn't have run away." Sasuke shrugged. "It's not my fault that you put yourself in that situation."

"I'm going to punch the shit out of you, if you don't watch your wording, Sasuke," Sakura groaned, rubbing her forehead once again. "You're a horrible person."

"Well, wait to fight me until we're outside." Sasuke mumbled, "I'm not paying for a broken mirror." He grabbed her wrist and her hand automatically fell out of its previous fist. He then spun around on his heel and began dragging her out of the House of Mirrors by her wrist.

"Stop being so…so…frugal!" Sakura whined.

"I'm am _not_ frugal," Sasuke hissed, his footsteps turning into stomps.

How _dare_ her! Uchiha's were _not_ frugal, and he would be damned if she would tell him he was. Sasuke would prove to her that he didn't care about money—that he could afford to break as many mirrors as he damn well pleased. He would show her.

With his free hand, and without stopping his pace, Sasuke sent out a fist to the mirror on his left. It shattered into thousands of pieces. He heard Sakura squeak when she watched his slightly bleeding hand return to his side.

"Sasuke…" Sakura said, her tone almost worried. "What..?"

He gave her no response, and she became rather aggravated. "You're so…" Sakura paused, her tone still annoyed and slightly angry, "eh…what's the word..?"

Sasuke bent down lower, his lips coming closer to hers.

"Handsome?"

"Definitely not what I was thinking." Sakura grinned sheepishly when she saw the frown form deeply on Sasuke's lips. She felt readjust his grip on her wrist, leading the way for her out of the mirrored hell.

Surely Naruto and Sai were growing concerned to where they had disappeared. They have been stuck in the House of Mirrors for longer than Sasuke had originally anticipated for—the main reason for this being that Sakura abandoned him and it took him forever to find her. _Tch. Annoying_. He was definitely stealing a beer from Naruto when he caught up with them.

"God-like," Sasuke said, the narcissism in his tone ever-present.

Sakura snorted, "hell no. That's _definitely_ not it."

"Hn," Sasuke grunted, his interest completely lost. He was not one to play the guessing game—especially for this long.

An awkward silence deafened their footsteps as they began following the exit path of the house. The glimpse of bright yellow and black was coming closer and closer, hinting their friends were waiting for them at the entrance. Sasuke was rather impressed that Naruto and Sai had come back to find them.

That was a first.

"Sasuke!"

He replied casually, "what?"

"I couldn't think of a word to define you," Sakura laughed, "you're too complex to be defined with a word; but, I guess you _are_ pretty handsome."

Sasuke gave her an annoyed look, _that's what she was trying to say_? "Hn."

"I mean, your brother is _really_ handsome, too…" Sakura mused aloud, "but, I like you better!" Sakura squealed hugging his side. He looked away from her, aggravation coursing through his veins at the mentioning of his older brother. He would be damned if he let Sakura fall in love with Itachi.

He would never let it happen.

"Annoying," Sasuke lowly growled, his eyes slightly glaring at the ground. He cast a swift look at the pink-headed girl clutching his side, and he let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. Why was he so angry at her? Was it because she mentioned his brother? Or…was it simply because she mentioned another man?

Her head tilted up and she caught his gaze, she gave him a strange, confused look when she saw his eyes. There was something in Sasuke's eyes that Sakura couldn't comprehend. "Did you say something, Sasuke-kun?"

He shook his head, in forlorn hope of clearing his mind—it didn't work.

"No."

-x- **N A R U T O** -x-

The blond boy was standing at the entrance of the house, double-fisting beers. Sai was standing next to him, holding a beer for himself. "Sasuke! Sakura!" Naruto shouted, a large grin plastered on his face. Sakura always said he looked like the Chesire Cat when he smiled like that. Sai gave the same smile he always did, which Sakura always shivered at.

"What the hell did you guys do in there?" Naruto wondered aloud, readying himself to pummel Sasuke. "I will murder you if you did anything to Sakura-chan!"

Sakura giggled at Naruto's antics and gave him a pat on the shoulder, stealing one of his beers in the process. "You don't have to worry about that anymore, Naruto." Sakura's smile grew wider. "Sasuke finally came out of the closet, ya'know?"

"Shut up, moron," Sasuke growled, for once he didn't know who he was directing his comment at. Naruto held out his other hand to give Sasuke the beer. Sasuke eagerly accepted the alcohol, while giving Naruto a nod of thanks in return. "Thanks," he mumbled.

"Too bad they didn't take any longer," Sai mused, turning around and pointing at Sakura, "I was hoping that my eyes could take a little bit longer of a break. They've been so stressed having to look at that _thing_ for hours. There's a good chance now that I might go blind."

"My _dearest_ Sai," Sakura began, "If you want me to keep myself from _castrating _your small penis—you should stop making false accusations!"

Sai smiled, "I hope you realize that we have already discussed that I have a large penis; therefore, it is you who is making the false accusation—not me."

"Well, we're both making false accusations then, because I know I'm fucking beautiful!" Sakura exclaimed, merrily.

"Correction, Sakura." Sai smiled bigger. "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."

Sakura smiled from cheek-to-cheek, her emerald eyes shining radiantly in the sun; yet, opposingly, her hands formed into tight fists.

"I'm giving you ten seconds, Sai-_kun_."

-x- **N A R U T O** -x-

They had started walking around the fairgrounds again when Naruto decided to speak up. "Sakura-chan," he whined, eyes big and blue, shimmering with need. When she didn't respond, being too focused on one of the prizes at a shooting game, Naruto repeated himself, "Sakura-chan!"

She spun around, head tilted to the right, and her eyes re-focusing on the blond boy in front of her. "Hmm?" She moaned; the tone rather lazy and uninterested. That's when Naruto noticed that Sakura was beginning to look relatively tired. Her shoulders were slumping a bit and her speed had slowed down significantly, yet her smile never seemed to falter.

He assumed that she was somewhat drunk, considering she had bought quite a few beers after the House of Mirrors.

Naruto shook his head, ridding himself of his observations, and continued, "Hinata-chan left!"

"Oh?" Sakura asked, her smile as uninterrupted as Sai's. "She was here?" Sakura sent a glance towards the Uchiha that was a few steps in front of her. The free hand which wasn't holding a beer was shoved deeply in his pockets, and he too was slouching. Sakura noted that slouching, however, was not an unusual occurrence for the Uchiha.

"Yeah, Sai and I ate ramen with her," Naruto grinned, merrily. "It was really fun. Hinata-chan was really quiet though, it was kind of strange."

"She's shy, Naruto," Sakura sighed, "probably because she likes you so much."

Naruto was confused. "Then why did she leave?" Naruto exclaimed, clearly upset that he wasn't able to spend more time with said girl.

Sakura groaned. "I'm not an oracle, Naruto. Complain to Neji-kun about it."

Sasuke paused in his steps. "Neji-_kun_?" He snorted. He returned to his normal walk when Sakura had finally caught up to him. She grinned and began walking in sync with the Uchiha, purposefully swinging her hands to and fro obnoxiously. She turned her head to look at him.

"What's wrong with that?"

Sasuke said nothing, took a gulp of his emptying beer, and walked faster. To Sakura, it almost seemed as though Sasuke was trying to avoid someone—

"Otouto."

Sasuke twitched and stared at his brother.

"No '_aniki_?'" Itachi asked, feigning hurt. Itachi was walking towards Sasuke, an amused look in his eyes when he spotted the beer the younger Uchiha was holding. "A little too young to drink, neh?" Itachi questioned, sending a casual glance towards everyone in the group. He spotted Sakura for a moment and stopped.

The older Uchiha looked her up-and-down, his gaze less than subtle. "I hope you can handle your liquor, Sakura; it's not safe for a girl to imbibe too much alcohol around a bunch of pubescent boys."

Sakura giggled, "thank you for the warning, Itachi. I'm positive I'll be able to fend myself off from all of these three if it came down to it; plus, Sasuke's gay."

Surprised by her clever response, Itachi let out an unsuspected chuckled, "I guess I should have warned the blond one then, they seem to have quite the history…"

Itachi stared at Naruto for a moment, before he noticed Sasuke take a step towards him. "What do you want?" Sasuke growled with annoyance, his brows furrowed. Sasuke would never trust Itachi; his older brother was _always_ up to something. The biggest dilemma within this was that Itachi was extremely clever and well-calculated; Sasuke could wryly admit to himself that he wasn't _quite_ as clever and calculated as his brother.

This is one of the many reasons that Sasuke despised Itachi.

Sakura was staring, bewildered, at both of the men in front of her. Her emerald eyes beheld the two gorgeous men with a glazed look. It was in this moment that she decided that Sasuke's mother was definitely on her list of 'Who I Meet Before I Die' list—for having such beautifully, sculpted children.

Itachi finally shrugged. "Fugaku called." Itachi analyzed Sasuke's reaction before continuing, "he requires our presence—specifically yours." He then sighed, shoving the cellular device back into his back jean's pocket.

At hearing this, Sasuke took note of Sakura's face deepen with an emotion bordering that of sadness. An almost inaudible sigh escaped Sasuke's thin lips as he tried to determine what he should do. His father was a very demanding person and he had a bad side that everyone tried to stay clear of; however, his father was also _too_ demanding of a person, and it was aggravating to constantly have to beckon to his each and every wish.

It was a peculiar expression that appeared on Sasuke's face, before he turned towards Itachi and bluntly replied, "no."

Something akin to surprise gleamed in Itachi's onyx orbs. This was the first time that Itachi had ever heard Sasuke deny their father's order, let alone even contemplate whether or not to obey them. It was a strange occurrence, not only because Fugaku was a very stern father; but, also because Sasuke always seemed to be trying to win Fugaku's approval. Sasuke trying to win his approval varied from the spectrum of physical all the way to mental capabilities.

Itachi had always found it rather pathetic of his brother, the way that Sasuke always lived to prove himself. Sasuke always tried to surpass him, regardless of Itachi trying to even impress anyone. Itachi followed Fugaku's orders when it was seemed like the most logical solution, but at the same time Itachi had his own independence.

Itachi simply didn't believe in having to dote to the clan's wishes—Itachi was his own person, not a tool.

He found it extremely interesting to see what this girl, _Sakura_, was doing to Sasuke. Just by looking at her downtrodden expression to hearing of Sasuke's potential departure, Sasuke went against his normal idealizations and actions to appease her.

_Interesting_… Itachi thought, a frown of disapproval gracing his lips. "It would not be wise," he mentioned to his little brother.

"Tch." Sasuke scoffed, ignoring his brother.

Itachi continued to muse upon this siren that seemed to have captivated Sasuke. Apparently there was much more to this girl than meets the eyes, if Sasuke could have fallen _this_ hard for her. Sure, she was beautiful, in that cutesy way, but he had seen better; a little too innocent, but it was always fun to taint that; she seemed to be clever, and presumably smart; but, there had to be something more.

He had noticed the way that _Sai_ kid looked at her, as well; and, he already knew that Naruto was in love with her at some point in his life. So, what was it? What was it that seemed to captivate the many men that were, unbeknownst to her, trailing after her?

Itachi smirked, devilishly; he just _had_ to find out.

Sakura looked at the brothers. Itachi seemed to be deep in thought; and, Sasuke looked as though he were going to murder someone. She honestly despised dealing with such tense situations. "Sasuke," Sakura suggested, "you don't have to stay for me."

Sasuke looked at her with something she concluded as honest surprise. To be honest, her words had made him feel some flame of rejection burn his insides. He thought she would have been happy with his decision, but it appeared as though she were more upset than anything else. He didn't know whether or not Sakura was trying to use some flippant form of reverse psychology on him.

He doesn't _have_ to stay with her. The emphasis on have, he determined, could be if he were to leave, Sakura would be completely disappointed with his choice. He didn't really want to deal with her spite the next time she would see him. She did have quite the temper, and even though it was easy to receive her forgiveness, it was still a hassle.

"Women," Sasuke muttered under his breath. He didn't understand them at all—not that he usually tried to. He was thankful when Sakura looked up at him with a questioning look, meaning she didn't actually hear his remark.

Beryl green orbs stared at him for a moment, an emotion between sympathy and concern present. She finally branched further on her previous statement, realizing that he may not have understood the true meaning behind her suggesting he leave. "Listen, I don't want you to have to get in trouble if you stay."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. Did Sakura think that he was a suck-up? That he lived for appeasing his father, and couldn't make his own decisions? He didn't know. Maybe she was just genuinely concerned for him.

Sasuke's mind was in shambles on whether or not he should choose to stay or abide by Fugaku's wishes. If Sakura was so adamant on him leaving, however, he might as well just go with Itachi.

"We're probably just going to have a few more beers and then leave. I already made Kaka-sensei agree to hang out with me later tonight, anyways; so, it's not worth getting in trouble for." Sakura stated. "Anyways, we'll probably see you tomorrow or something."

Why was she hanging out with Kakashi? Kakashi was her teacher, and it was extremely inappropriate for her to hang out with him. What was she going to do with Kakashi that late at night? The man was fourteen years her senior, plus her teacher.

"Why are you hanging out with _Kakashi_?" Sasuke asked, his stared slowly forming into a vociferous, disgusted glare.

Sakura was roughly taken aback the look that Sasuke had given her. Didn't he know? She thought that most people knew that Kakashi and her were extremely close with one another. That look though…it made her cringe. It appeared, to her, as though Sasuke were misconstruing her relationship with Kakashi, and that made her angry.

He had no right to make crude assumptions about her, nor about Kakashi. "Because I asked him to, Sasuke. We're probably just going to a bar—I don't see why you're so upset."

Sasuke's shock was consuming his entire being. "A bar?" Sasuke exclaimed, angrier and more disgusted. "Sakura, that man is fourteen years your senior and he's your teacher; and, you plan on getting drunk and defenseless around him."

Naruto, who already knew of Sakura and Kakashi's completely platonic relationship, something comparable to father-daughter, didn't understand why Sasuke could have been upset. Sasuke was just as close as he was to Sakura, wasn't he? He should know that there wasn't anything to worry about. Sai was completely indifferent the conversation, while Itachi seemed to be gauging his little brother's reactions with pure amusement.

"Your right, Sasuke. Little ol' defenseless, stupid me is going to go to the bar with a person I guess I _barely_ know. Don't worry though, because I'm going to get completely obliterated, and see where I end up—hopefully his house. Yeah, that's it."

Sakura chimed, "if you want to make absurd assumptions about my relationships with people, next time you should try to understand before you accuse." Sakura growled.

She had already finished her beer at this point, and now her aggravation about both Sasuke and the empty beer were combined.

"You're such a dick, sometimes, Sasuke."

Sasuke spun on his right heel and started walking away. "I'm leaving."

He didn't turn around to look at her huff and start stomping the other way, to watch a stunned Naruto and Sai watch the two depart, nor to watch the entertained Itachi follow Sakura.

Sasuke didn't understand why Sakura couldn't be straight-forward with him. He was just trying to protect her! Why shouldn't he make assumptions if she's going to a bar with some geyser that teachers her. Did he mention the fact that Kakashi reads porn novels every day—even when he's teaching? It's not his fault that the likeliness of her getting taken advantage of would be by Kakashi was more prominent than the other teachers.

He was just trying to protect her. "Whatever." He muttered under his breath, kicking a large rock that was directly in front of him. "So fucking annoying."

Sasuke sighed and looked around. "Where the hell did Itachi go, anyways?" Sasuke was driving with Itachi, but he had assumed that they would be walking to the parking lot together. Stuffing his hands into his pockets, Sasuke let out one more sigh. Maybe Sakura was right with that statement…

He needed to stop making so many assumptions.

* * *

Fugaku looked at Sasuke and let out an exasperated sigh. This was definitely going to be a difficult subject matter to talk about, let alone bring up. He figured, however, he would simply get it over with as quick as possible—lay down the law, and whatnot. It's not as though Sasuke would deny any of his wishes, with how impeccably obedient he is. He laughed inwardly at the thought of how Sasuke always tried to impress him, how he always tried to surpass Itachi. He contemplated—at least one of his sons tried to appease him.

_Damn that Itachi._ If it weren't for him being the prodigy of the Uchiha clan, Fugaku would have disowned him as soon as possible. Fugaku hated the fact that Itachi was too clever, too smart, and too calculated for the good of the clan. Itachi was too independent and had a mind of his own; he didn't have a single care about representing the name of the Uchiha.

"Sasuke," Fugaku began, "I have arranged for you to be…"

Sasuke raised a brow as he waited for his father to finish off his sentence. There was a demanding look in his eyes—one that made Sasuke knew that his father wouldn't give him the choice to back down. It worried the young Uchiha. The fact that Fugaku had called him home specifically to order him to do something, so urgently…

Sasuke knew he wasn't going to like his impending future.

It seemed as though his father were fumbling over the multiple ways that Sasuke would clearly comprehend the following word—most, actually _all_ of the hypothetical reactions were negative. Any of his actions that were to come from this that were unlikely and completely atypical. Fugaku took a deep breath, readying himself. It's not as though Sasuke would have a choice, anyways; so, he might as well get it over with.

"...betrothed."

"H-huh?" It was supposed to be moreover a question than a shout. Sasuke didn't know how to react, didn't know what to say. He could barely even comprehend what his father had just told him. He was supposed to be…betrothed? He was to get…married? He wasn't even out of high school yet!

Plus, Sakura…

Fugaku examined Sasuke's reaction and gave his son a couple minutes to register what he had just demanded. The father ran his right hand through his scalp, brush back a few bangs that had previously cascaded in front of his eyes, obscuring his view.

"I decided it would be best for you, especially since you don't speak with girls," Fugaku said. "I don't care if you actually _are_ gay, or you're simply asexual; however, you will not taint the Uchiha name, and our family, under our rule."

At this moment, the door opened, and Itachi slowly walked in. "Father," Itachi nodded, then he looked at his brother. "Sasuke," he acknowledged, also sending him a nod.

Fugaku beckoned Itachi over, in hopes that he might be able to help him in the discussion with Sasuke. Who knew? Maybe Itachi would be willing to help Fugaku out in this situation, finding happiness for Sasuke.

He couldn't help but scoff at his father's audacity and his brother's nonchalance. "Tch." Sasuke shoved his hands in his pockets and stared at the floor, thinking. How could his father have the nerve and impudence to even consider something of such caliber, especially at his age! Betrothals weren't even common anymore in this day and age; but, then again…this was the Uchiha clan.

"I don't really care if it's a cover-up for your sexuality, Sasuke," Fugaku sighed, watching his son's body stiffen. "I was hoping I wouldn't have to stoop as low as doing this; but, for the sake of the clan, for your mother and me, stay _in_ the closet and go through with this."

In his pockets, his hands were balling into fists.

He had done everything his father asked him to do his entire life, but…this? Itachi was the older son, so why wasn't he getting married off? He didn't deserve this. There was no way.

"I'm not gay," Sasuke coldly replied. He couldn't believe his father, his own flesh and blood, dared to accuse him of his sexuality. Why was it whenever he had something important to prove, such as being straight, that he never had tangible _proof_ to back up his acclamations?

If only he had asked Sakura to be his girlfriend, or something, he would have been able to avoid all of this.

"Sasuke," Fugaku growled. "I am your father and if you do not abide by my commands," his voice was low, horridly threatening, "there will be _dire_ consequences and retributions."

Sasuke glared at his father. "Tch," he hissed, unaffected by his father's attempts at a scare tactic.

Itachi smirked at the entire interaction that had occurred between Fugaku and Sasuke. He almost wished that he hadn't missed the entirety of it, but he was doing more…_important_ things. "Fugaku-san," Itachi replied in an extremely formal matter—probably because in Itachi's eyes, he didn't see Fugaku fit to be his father, let alone anyone else's.

Fugaku looked up in surprise, both by the insincere, spiteful formality, as well as Itachi speaking out of turn. Itachi rarely spoke unless it was necessary, and it was especially uncharacteristic of him to speak up in defense of Sasuke. Sasuke narrowed his eyes, what could Itachi possibly be planning?

Maybe it was brotherly love…maybe; though, it were more like that it was atypical sympathy for his younger brother. Regardless of how much Itachi thoroughly enjoyed watching his brother strive for some senseless idealism; he didn't exactly want his brother to die a completely unhappy jackass.

Well…maybe.

"Why not…" Itachi sought out the right wording to use towards his father. "…give Sasuke a set time period to find his own…personal choice?"

Fugaku sent Itachi a fierce glare. His onyx eyes furious, a rage that Itachi hasn't often seen in his eyes; however, Fugaku was considering his opinion. If he allowed for this, then Sasuke would be more accepting towards the betrothal; and, the likeliness of Sasuke finding another girl in a short amount of time was near impossible.

He supposed he could give Sasuke a chance. "I'll give you half a year. Find a girl, date her, fuck her for all I care; but, you have to propose and marry her within this time frame." Regardless of how awkward Fugaku was with his wording, Sasuke felt a smidgen of relief resonate throughout his body.

"However, you still have to get to know the woman I have arranged for you to marry within this time frame, as well. That way you'll be able to have her as the fall back," he sighed, "when you mess up."

"Are you clear with your obligations?" Fugaku interrogated.

Sasuke scoffed. "Aa."

Sasuke still couldn't understand how his life had come down to this. His opinion didn't even matter! What was going to be become of his future? Was his life really going to be determined within six months? Why the hell isn't Itachi in his place?

"Why don't you make Itachi marry someone first?" Sasuke hissed, pointing his finger towards his older brother. "He's the elder of us, and, therefore, he should carry the responsibility of the clan's name first."

Fugaku frowned. He was hoping that Sasuke wouldn't bring up Itachi, solely due to the purpose that Itachi would completely refuse to obey Fugaku, especially concerning this matter. "Well," Fugaku needed to think of an excuse quick, "Itachi, unlike you…"

Itachi shrugged. "I'm not a tool, like you, Sasuke. I don't need someone to pick out women for me. Anyways, I have a date later on tonight."

Fugaku nodded, thanking the heavens that Itachi covered him up. With one last sigh, Fugaku cracked his neck, and departed from the room towards his office. "Sasuke, you have six months." He reminded loudly, sending his hand in the air, beckoning a slight goodbye.

He ignored his father.

"You?" Sasuke snorted, "a date?"

There was no way.

"Well, it seems that Kakashi couldn't make it out tonight," Itachi chuckled, a wide, arrogant smirk plastering itself on his lips, "so Sakura asked me to join her."

"_What_?"

There was no _fucking_ way.

Itachi shrugged as he started to walk away to his father's office. "She is _quite_ an interesting woman."

-x- **N A R U T O** -x-

Itachi knelt next to the table, grabbing the small cup of tea that was set down by the servant. He knew that the impending phrase from his father was going to be an insult. He didn't care; he despised his father. "What was it that you needed me for father?"

"You're a bastard." Fugaku deadpanned, eyes narrowed in a horrific glare.

Fugaku handed Itachi a photo.

"I've called you about this picture of a girl Sasuke seemed to have in his room." Fugaku stated, handing Itachi the picture.

Staring at the picture was Sakura and Sasuke lying on his bed, to whom he was to assume that Naruto had taken the picture. Their legs were tangled, his arm behind her neck, hers resting on his abdomen; her head was in the crook of his neck, while his rested atop his head. They were sleeping on another. He then noticed ho Sasuke's fingers wrapped around her skin, almost as if they were scared to let go—as if she would disappear.

Itachi shrugged. "That's the girl who I'm going on a date with tonight."

* * *

**End of Chapter 2**

* * *

**Author's Note**: Reviews are appreciated! I like to hear your opinions, constructive criticisms, conversations, and input!

EWHH its Kenna


	3. Take 3: That Lucky Son of a Gun!

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Naruto.

**Warning**: This story is not meant to bash any character. If a character is verbally attacked by another character, it's due to keep characters in character; not to attack a character. I, personally, am fond of all of the characters in Naruto. Just sayin'.

* * *

**Stereotyping Uchiha's**

Uh-oh! It's an Awkward Turtle!

* * *

He didn't know whether or not this was the moment in life he was ready to finally kill himself. After letting out a sigh of annoyance, he looked up at the bright blue sky and contemplated his suicide. The sky was beautiful today, a bright, lovely pale blue with many stratocumulus clouds hovering above. He saw a pack of tiny birds floating around, fighting over food that they had discovered earlier that day.

He hated how free those birds were.

"Sasuke-kun!" It was a high pitched squeal.

Said boy took a deep breath and held it. Finally, he brought his gaze down from the captivating sky and turned to face his potential fiancé. For his personality, he found her quite obnoxious—this term was not held loosely.

Naruto was obnoxious, yes; however, he still, reluctantly, could admit that Naruto had something he appreciated. Naruto was something akin to being a brother. He may be stupid, but he had an endless heart; he cared about any and all things; plus, when it came down to everything, Naruto was Sasuke's rival. He appreciated how obnoxious Naruto was. That blond boy was his opposite, compatible in the sense that they fed off each other's flaws.

The blonde haired woman, Ino, clung to his right arm as he finally turned to face her. "Aren't you excited for the festival tonight? I bet it will be amazing!" Her smile was radiant, but…not compared to Sakura's. Ino and Sakura, like him and Naruto, were complete opposites—in their personalities, emotions, and physical appearances.

He had currently spent the entirety of the day with Ino, and to no avail had he been relatively intrigued. At first he figured his interest wasn't piqued simply because he…cared about Sakura; but, it wasn't just that. The woman before him was something he couldn't become attracted to—no matter how hard he tried. He was sure that she had some good qualities, somewhere in there; but, he just didn't want them.

He wanted Sakura.

"Neh, are you excited, Sasuke-kun?" Ino asked, giggling as she stared at Sasuke. "Sasuke-kuuuuuun?" She asked, "Neh?"

He finally let out his breath.

"What?" He asked. He hadn't been paying attention. Even though he had finally faced her, he was still thinking about the sky—about those birds flying through their freedom. _Lucky bastards_.

"In only hours we will, _together_, be enjoying the views of such an amazing festival!" Ino exclaimed in joy. "I can't wait to kiss you under the moonlight and hold your hand and smile with you. We'll be so cute together! Everyone will be jealous of us, especially of how _good_ we look." She grinned, brightly. "We will look so beautiful," she chimed.

A deep frown appeared on Sasuke's face, he really felt the urge to just walk away—leave her forever. He just didn't want this, any of this. Lucky for Ino, Sasuke did slightly…_fear_ the retributions that would occur if he denied Ino. His father was known for being a dick.

Family affairs were already bad enough, now he had to deal with the circumstances of being in an arranged marriage as well? The worst part of this was Uchiha Sasuke being with Yamanaka Ino; it was the concept that he didn't even want to try being with her, that made it so bad. Who could blame him, though?

It's just that…he was too focused on his current feelings to ignore them. He can't bring his mind to focus on someone else, when he's already has, what he has determined as, "feelings" for Sakura.

"Sasuke-kun!" She shouted.

His eye-sight focused again and he stared into her sapphire eyes. "Hn?" He forgot she was still talking to him. He rubbed the back of his neck, massaging it as best as he could. He could feel several knots in his back—he was stressed.

"Are you excited for the festival?"

That was the fifth time she had asked him that. Sakura was annoying; Ino was…fucking obnoxious. He hated his life, officially. He had originally figured that she would stop asking him after the third time. It seemed he was completely wrong.

_Please, Gods…_

"What do—"

…_if you're out there..._

"—you think?" Ino pried, tugging at his arm. Her sapphire blue pools stared into him with that _same_ questioning look, not the defeated expression that most people would have for being ignored. He sighed and, from the balcony, stared off at the mountains not too far ahead. He remembered about two years ago when he, Naruto, and Sakura had gone there to drink—they were just kids then; they had no other options.

Naruto had gotten lost at one point, walked off too drunk to notice. That was also the night where he and Sakura had gotten caught by the cops, fooling around behind a tree. When the cops had shined the lights on them, they had freaked out and ran away—he dragging Sakura by the wrist, before eventually caring her. Then, they had jumped into a lake, into the freezing cold water, in senseless ideals that it was the most logical hiding spot—of course, they didn't get found; but, they were also freezing from being the lake for so long.

That was the night that Sasuke felt there was more to their friendship than a simple camaraderie; something about her made him happier to be with than everyone else.

That was the night Sasuke realized he liked Sakura.

Realization hit him, Sakura was still mad at him. He furrowed is brow and cleared his throat. Sakura _hated_ him at the moment—she wasn't even answering his calls! All of this because he had forgotten "to apologize" for something he didn't do wrong. It's not his faults he makes rational assumptions. And, what of what Itachi mentioned about them going on a date—especially to a bar?

A slight frown appeared on Sasuke's lips. With a sigh of defeat, he looked at her and, finally, composed himself to his usual demeanor—cold and annoyed. "Aa," he grunted, still grimacing at the thought of how, _all of a sudden_, Itachi's interested in talking to a girl—_Sakura_.

…_save me._

"Sasuke-kun..?" Ino asked, a concerned tone filtering throughout her voice. "Are you alright? You might be sick… I had to ask you six times if you were excited for the festival; which, by the way, are you?"

What the _hell_ was he supposed to think about the festival? He didn't even like going in public! Now she was trying to discover his answer, but changing her question to a statement. This was not exactly how he had planned the deal to go—he had thought he was going to have freedom being with the girl he was interested in.

It had already been a week since the day of the "betrothal announcement"—and he and Sakura weren't even on talking terms at the moment! _Fucking Itachi…_ he thought, eyes turning into a glare. _He's been hanging out with her more and more, while I can less and less_. There was no way that Sasuke was going to let Itachi win. No _fucking_ way.

He shook his head, ridding himself of the thoughts of Sakura and Itachi together, smiling; fighting; fooling around—_no_! "I'm excited to go," Sasuke lied, rolling his eyes. He knew Ino would believe him, she would believe anything he said.

Ino _was_ attractive. She had long, blonde hair; her entire body was very curvy, her waist still small. Subsequently, this led to the problem of her rather racy attire—something he didn't find very attractive.

His father must have known from the very beginning, and he bet Itachi had been his accomplice. Fugaku must have already known all about Ino; that she was clingy, _extremely_ wealthy; he _knew_ that Sasuke would agree to the deal! The Uchiha closed his eyes, cursing at himself for being so predictable. And, Itachi…

"That bastard!" Sasuke hissed under his breath in pure rage. Itachi had probably clued Fugaku in that Sakura wasn't near as affluent as Ino; how she and Sasuke always got into fights.

It was decided. He had to apologize to Sakura

That way he could start talking to her again and convince her to marry him. In was the only option, unless he wanted to remain with Ino the rest of his life.

"Oh my God!" Ino exclaimed, smiling broadly, completely oblivious to Sasuke's feigned feelings of passion about going to the festival. "I'm so excited too!"

"Hn," he grunted, nodding his head.

Ino sighed, dreamily, "we are so _alike_, Sasuke-kun! We really are compatible."

He was getting a throbbing headache. He scoffed, "Of course."

_Idiot_...

* * *

He moaned. He had been walking around the mall for about three hours now, following at Ino's feet and wading on her. Each store, she spent half an hour in, trying _everything_ on. He even had to carry her shopping bags. It was official: he loathed his father. He had been staring at the ground when she finally stopped to turn around and look at him.

"Are you OK, Sasuke-kun?" Ino questioned. Her entire bag was full of clothes and they had just gotten inside this new store. Many of the clothing, especially the ones she made him see, were extremely risqué—maybe she was planning on going to some clubs. _Better be without me_. Sasuke thought, scowling at the idea of being dragged to a club. He _hated _clubs.

"Hn." Somewhere inside Sasuke, he realized he was praying to whatever gods were out there to save him from all of this. He didn't want to go to the festival with Ino; he wanted to go with Sakura. Out of all people…really? Just what…

What the fuck.

Ino squealed. "OHH!" Getting giddy, she skipped over to the small dress and clapped her hands. "I like this one, Sasuke-kun! Don't you like this?" Ino's eyes shined with excitement. "Do you?"

Sasuke nodded, not paying attention to what she asked, nor the dress that she held. He couldn't care. He wasn't interested in her like that—he wasn't interested in trying to be seduced. He hated knowing that anytime he was going to be drinking, she was bound to come and try to seduce him. Hopefully, he wouldn't be too inebriated at the festival tonight.

The young Uchiha was graced by a gleam of luck, for something had caught his attention—a pink blob which hovered barely three inches about the mini-hanger racks. _Sakura_! A smirk waned itself on Sasuke's lips, and his mind began to construct a plan. Swiftly, Sasuke grabbed the nearest piece of lingerie to his right and looked in Ino's direction. "Ino," Sasuke drawled, holding the skimpy blue garb out. "How about you try this on..." His smirk widened, "…for me?"

Ino's cerulean orbs looked up at Sasuke with, a spark of excitement shining within them. "Sasuke-kun," she seductively whispered, leaning to his ear, "that's…perfect!" A mischievous grin placed itself upon her ruby lip; she giggled.

Sasuke noted her behavior—it seemed that, if she bought the lingerie, she was planning on using it sometime soon. He grimaced at that fact.

"Yes, yes!" Ino squeaked, still jumping with excitement. Her nimble hands quickly snatched the garment from the Uchiha's hands and scurried to the bathroom, grabbing several other lingerie clothing as well. He sighed in relief, disregarding the fact that anyone who had just seen him would deem him a sexually-crazed player.

"Hmph," he scoffed. He was simply manipulating others for his future benefits—he saw no problem with that. His mind focused once again, finally remembering why he had sent Ino off. It was time for him to look for Sakura.

-x-** O** -x-

"Oi, jerk," he heard from behind him. He felt a dignified poke in the center of his spine, causing him to flinch. He spun around on his left heel and gave the person a perturbed look. _Who_…? "I haven't seen you for a while, Sasuke." There was blatant anger laced on her tone.

"Sakura," Sasuke greeted. He gave her an arrogant smirk, his eyes gleaming with unknown emotions. Sakura tilted her head a few degrees and responded with a questioning look. He could tell that she was waiting on him for something. He gave an aggravated sigh and furrowed his brows. "Look," he grumbled, "I shouldn't have accused you for your relationship with Kakashi."

"Is that supposed to be an apology?" Sakura prodded. He could tell that she was trying to suppress a wide grin; he could tell that she was going to make him say _it_. He grimaced at how childish she was; but, if it meant saving himself from Ino's grasp, he guessed he could sacrifice a small portion of his ego.

He shrugged, "did it not sound like one?" He did enjoy aggravating her; something about the pink haired girl's high-temper was relatively entertaining—until she got violent, of course. He smirked when he saw the fire ablaze in her eyes, she was getting mad.

"No. It sounded like a realization."

A smile played on her plump lips, almost resembling a feral grin. "I was hoping for a date to the festival tonight…" She began. "I'm so excited to go. I think Itachi's going to ask me—"

She really _was_ conniving.

"I'm…" Sasuke shifted his eyes, looking away from her. He was only going to do this simply because he needed to start spending more time with Sakura—he couldn't afford to wait any longer. "I'm sorry." Sasuke drawled, feigning an apologetic look.

"I know that wasn't sincere, Sasuke," Sakura sighed, "but… I also know that that's the best you can do. So, I'll accept it."

"Hn." Sasuke grunted. He rested his back against one of the mirrors that were in the clothing store and looked at her, waiting.

Sakura growled, "I still can't get over how damn annoying your replies are!" She walked towards him, a few inches away, and she tilted her head closer. "Are you really going to be mean to me, Sa-su-ke…" she paused, her lips grazing the corner of his. He could feel her hot breath fanning against his cheeks; he could see the glistening of her lips from where her tongue had previously traced. "…_kun_?"

"Aa," he replied, a wide smirk playing on his thin lips. He was kind of surprised by the initiative that Sakura had taken to get her way—she actually skimmed her lips against his! If only she weren't so obdurate when it came to their absurd fights, they would be in the changing room fooling around already. He groaned. _If only_…

"Stop that!" Sakura whined. Her emerald eyes gazed up at him, glaring at his flawless face. Her lips formed into a large pout, the inner tips of her eyebrows scrunching down. "You know that I hate that, Sasuke." She shook her head and back up a few feet. "Good thing I'm not missing out on too much," she muttered, "considering you're a _horrible_ kisser."

He frowned, _no fucking way_. He couldn't even fathom the concept that she had just called him a bad, no…_horrible_ kisser. A deep frown appeared on the Uchiha's face and he narrowed his eyes to a spiteful glare. "You're the one that doesn't know how to kiss, Sa-ku-ra," his head dipping down, now inches away from her own, "-_chan_."

"Is that a _challenge_, Sasuke-_kun_?" Sakuar demanded. Her hands were now placed on her hips and her glare narrowed further. No one challenged her—no one.

"What do you think?" He asked, a smug smirk tugging at his lips.

Grabbing the collar of his shirt, Sakura tugged him down to her level, crashing her lips against his. Slightly surprised by such a brash action, Sasuke's lips parted to try and gasp. Taking this to her opportunity, Sakura slid her tongue inside his mouth, making sure to memorize every inch of the crevice. Their tongues danced, feverishly fighting for dominance—both of the couple convinced to win the challenge. Reality setting in, Sasuke finally brought a hand to the small of her back, pressing him against her. He nipped at her bottom lip and a soft moan escaped from the petite girl.

Needing air both parted. Each one greedily sucking in all the air that their lungs could handle; they panted and stared, shocked at one another. Sakura was too flustered to say anything and Sasuke was trying to regain any of his composure he had previously held.

"I'll take it back," Sakura admitted in defeat, rolling her eyes at the triumphant smirk that was playing on the Uchiha's lips. Bending down, she picked up the dress that she didn't realize she had dropped during the kiss. "But, I don't know if you're fully forgiven yet."

"Oi!" Sasuke called out when he noticed Sakura turning around to walk towards the cash register. She paused and turned her head to look back at him. She gave him a questioning look, surprised by his sudden beckoning.

"Huh?" Sakura questioned; the blush that was previously on her face just as prominent as before.

"What the _hell_ are you getting _that_ for?" Sasuke hissed, pointing at the skimpy red dress that was in Sakura's hand.

Sakura shrugged. "Well, your brother—" Sakura giggled, feigning innocence. Sakura had learned from the day that she had met Itachi, she had found the perfect way to antagonize Sasuke. She could manipulate him to the tee when she mentioned Itachi to Sasuke. Though she did feel pretty bad about getting closer to Itachi; especially with how angry it made Sasuke. Hopefully he didn't know about them hanging out and going on a couple dates since their last fight.

_Hopefully_…

Of course, though, she and Itachi hadn't done anything, so she didn't see any reason for Sasuke to be mad. They were just close acquaintances, anyways. Deep inside, Sakura hoped that Sasuke would have the courage to ask her to the festival soon, before Itachi did. She knew she wouldn't be able to deny going with Itachi, especially if Sasuke wasn't going to go with her.

"Sakura…" Sasuke hissed in rage. His feet were stomped through the few feet of space that had been between them, and he grabbed her by the arm. Soon enough, the pink headed girl was being dragged by Sasuke to the back of the wtore where no one was present. Though Sakura did enjoy pissing Sasuke off, she didn't know if she had gone too far—and, that worried her.

She did cherish every moment then he was possessive of her, though. She loved the feeling of him desiring her so bad that he would get jealous of any man that looked at her; she also loved the fact that he looked _extremely_ sexy when he was mad—unless, of course, he was…_scary_ mad. She's only seen him "scary mad" once; and, it absolutely terrified her. She shivered at the thought.

"Sasuke," she warned, "I need to leave. The festival is only hours away, I need to finish my errands and get ready!"

"Choose a different dress," Sasuke hissed. "I don't want people seeing you in that. Why are you buying that _thing_ for, anyways?"

"Shh!" Sakura blew on her pointer finger, a sly smile remaining on her lips. "It's a secret!" She giggled again and gave him a small wink, sticking out her tongue.

Sasuke frowned. He _loathed_ secrets with a passion—at least ones that he didn't know. "Sakura," he whispered, bending down until his head rested against the nape of her neck. He smirked against her skin at the thought of how red her cheeks must have been. A shiver ran down her spine as she felt his hot breath trail against her skin, causing the hairs on the back of her neck to stick up. Any time he was this close to her, she always remembered all of the intense kisses they had shared.

He cooed, "tell me."

Now only inches away from his face, Sakura's smile widened. Her eyes were half-lidded and an unknown emotion was present in her beryl green eyes. Her lips opened, steadily coming closer to his. She planted her right hand on his cheek and brought her face inches away from his own. She blew on his face, laughing.

He backed away, instantly—shocked by the sudden juvenile action.

"Nope!" She exclaimed, wagging her finger at him.

Sasuke glowered at the girl, shoving his hands in his pockets. "How _annoying_."

Sakura pursed her lips at first, waiting for her temper to subside before she decided upon replying. She would be damned if her temper flared again, especially after just having calmed down. "So, do you have a date for _Hina Matsuri_?" Sakura asked.

"I…" _Fuck_, Sasuke thought, _I'm supposed to be going with Ino._ "I don't think I'm going," Sasuke mumbled, averting his eyes. He really needed to concoct a plan so Sakura wouldn't find out about the whole Ino ordeal, or he would be fucked. It was disappointing, because he _knew_ that Sakura had been wanting to go with him to this festival since the beginning of this year; he honestly felt a tinge of regret that he wouldn't be able to go with her.

"Aw, Sasuke," Sakura whined, she walked her two forefingers up the side of his cheek. Her pointer finger reached his temple and then lifted; she poked the tip of his nose. "You _know_ that I'd love if you went."

"Sakura…" Sasuke breathed. She was trying to guilt trip him; and, it wasn't fair because he already felt guilt enough for not being able to take her. He averted his eyes, looking at the ground. He didn't want to see that pleading look in her eyes, nor the disappointment that was sure to be there.

"Mou, I guess I'll just have to settle for Ita—"

It was an abrupt response: "No."

Sakura huffed, "then come with me." Sakura shrugged; the solemn expression still present in her eyes. "I can't assure you that I'm always going to be waiting on you, Sasuke."

He wished a thousand and one wishes that those words weren't true.

He was slightly shocked at how serious the conversation had turned. _Hina Matsuri_ must have meant a great deal to Sakura if she was resorting to such a finite statement. "Hn," Sasuke grunted. He no longer knew how to respond.

"You don't have a say on who I go with," Sakura hissed, stomping off to buy her outfit. "You still have time to ask me, Sasuke; but, I don't know how much longer—"

Caught in the midst of her walk, The Uchiha's hand grasped her by the wrist. "Tomorrow. Eat." Sasuke demanded, his eyes solely focused on the girl before her.

"I will, actually. I ate yesterday; even today, too. I plan on eating tomorrow, as well, Uchiha," Sakura spat. She began counting on her fingers, as she continued naming off every day she had eaten within that week.

Sasuke sighed, "Shut up." He rolled his eyes. "Sakura, tomorrow you are coming with me…to eat."

A small smile appeared on Sakura's lips. "You win, Sasuke," Sakura mumbled, "I'll go out on a date with you tomorrow. But what about tonight—?" Sakura began asking, until she realized that the Uchiha had already disappeared.

She felt something in her stomach drop; and, some of the heartstrings on her heart snap. "Nevermind…" Sakura whispered into the stale air of the clothing store. She turned around to walk towards the cashier and buy her dress.

"Nevermind."

* * *

"Sasuke-kun, we have to hurry!" Ino shrieked, seeing the clock behind the cashier. "We only have like…"

Sasuke rolled his eyes and sighed, "three hours."

"Exactly!" Ino said, utterly bewildered. "That's only an hour to do my hair; an hour to get dressed; and, an hour to do my make-up!" Ino ignored whatever Sasuke's response was—probably a grunt—and handed the cashier her credit card. After paying, she grabbed Sasuke's hand and quickly rushed out of the store.

-x-** O** -x-

Upon arrival, Sasuke slammed the door open to his house. Stomping up the stairs, to his room, Sasuke—something akin to involuntarily—threw off his shirt, muscles flexing from the awkwardly extreme temperature change and freedom. Sasuke followed this action with the rest of his routine—stripping himself of his shorts; combing both palms through his gravity-defying hair; and falling helplessly onto his bed.

Sasuke wasn't fond of nudism, per se; but, he was always most comfortable being close to stark naked, save for his boxers. Of course, he didn't parade around his house in the less than appropriate attire; but, then again, he didn't necessarily parade around his house often, even if he was wearing the clothing that he had gotten so accustomed to. He mused, half-heartedly, _maybe it's the freedom of knowing I don't have to deal with people_.

Sighing out with moans that craved slumber, Sasuke scrunched his eyes. He breathed in, then out; in, then out. He had to go to the festival later this evening. He could admit that he was never one for enjoying the great outdoors, especially when the streets were bustling with children, lovers, and the elderly. He was just thankful that he didn't have to worry about Ino pouting about not wearing traditional clothing. He _despised_ traditionalclothing—it was always so much unnecessary work.

He was still aggravated by the fact that he had to completely avoid Sakura's implications of going with her, as well. He hated having to be so vague and indirect with her; but, he didn't really have a choice. It was for the best.

Sasuke laughed dryly aloud. "Yeah," he scoffed, blatant sarcasm lathered in his venomous tone, "it's for the _best_." He rolled his eyes too himself.

The Uchiha kicked himself off of the bed and headed towards his closet door. He struggled a moment too find that his closet was slightly resistant—it must have been jammed. _I need to clean this place,_ Sasuke thought with narrowed eyes, _it's starting to resemble Sakura's room_. He shook his head though, in last ditch efforts to regain some of his own dignity. There was no way his room could _ever_ be messier than Sakura's. Inching all of the papers that were jutting out from the bottom of the sliding door, Sasuke finally succeeded in achieving access.

He kicked some more papers around, most of them being graded homework, quizzes, essays, and tests; then, he came across a surprising memory. Sasuke stood there for a moment staring blankly at a somewhat crumpled photo from years ago.

The pink haired girl had a cheeky, yet sassy smile gracing her plump, vermilion lips; her apple-green pools were shining like the brightest of all emeralds, the right eye closed to form a wink; her dark pink tongue was stuck out, her top teeth partially visible due to her wide smile; and, her left hand was making a peace sign at the camera. Everything about her radiated happiness and sunshine.

The raven locked boy stood next to her with a half smile, half smirk spreading on his face—he must have been in the middle of deciding which one to do; there was a light pink tinge on his cheeks, something he obviously was unable to suppress any longer; and, his onyx stones were trying so hard to avoid the camera—instead, they ended up not-too-subtly glancing at her.

Their hands were entwined, fingers interlocked with one another filling in the gaps that they were so used to.

Sasuke frowned. Their times were changing—both of them were growing up. They didn't have all the time in the world like they did back then. In fact, it seems that what used to be "all the time in the world" had changed to "six months." He grimaced at the thought. Back then, when they were still doing all the habitual "silly crush" actions, they were always half-smiling through half-lidded, half-hesitant eyes. They didn't know what they were—they were best friends.

Now though… Now it was just…_something_.

It was something that he couldn't quite figure out yet—their friendship, that is. They certainly had grown closer, much of this a result from natural, physical, mental, and emotional maturation; however, there was more to it than that. The growing closeness had already severed the deep, affectionate bond of best friends; it had laid them on a new path of life, something unnatural to both of them.

And, he was worried, because if he didn't capture her quickly…

He wondered.

…was she going to disappear?

Sasuke automatically flexed every muscle in his body, trying to send the metabolism and endorphins throughout his body. He figured this was probably the best solution in attempting to remove the current thoughts from his head. He didn't have time to be musing over this; his recent dilemma had cornered him to relying on action, not thought. Abruptly, his body stiffened. He felt small, frail arms wrap speedily around his neck, as well as the sudden weight change that was falling onto his back. "Sasuke!" He didn't know whether or not luck was on his side that she had come to see him on her own accord.

Sasuke's ears perked and he stretched his shoulders, trying to meet his elbows together behind his back. "H-Huh?" It wasn't really a response or a question; it was more of a shocked expression, not exactly realizing how he was supposed to react.

"Surprise!"

His deep gray eyes were covered by small palms and delicate fingers; he blinked in efforts to try to readjust to the sudden darkness, cursing himself for not having noticed she was there earlier. He heard a giggle from behind him—in this, he tried to ignore how any space that was previously between them was now gone; how her breasts were firmly planted against his back, vibrating with the beautiful music of her laughter; how he could feel her breath hot against the shell of his ear. "Guess who!"

If he _hadn't_ already figured out whom the figure on top of him was… Sasuke would have to admit that he would have been close to horrified. He had never really pictured himself being in the scenario where he, tired and close to _naked_, had someone jump upon him and ravage him, while simultaneously covering his eyes. It was almost as though it were the start to a potentially rigorous bondage film—X-rated, and all.

"_Sakura_," he groaned. It seemed that she was ignoring the sour warning that resided in his semi-casual voice. She could tell that he was somewhere in between annoyed and actually mad, and she rejoiced in it. Something about aggravating the Uchiha, getting under his skin, it was so fun—it was a game. She would stalk upon her prey, tease it and play with it for a while, and then, finally…_attack_.

"Mou, you're no fun," Sakura pouted, making a farting noise and removing her hands. When he turned around at her, to give her a look of disapproval, he was greeted with a thumb down and a larger pout. "What are you doing naked, anyway?" Sakura asked, curiosity getting the better of her. She never really pinned Sasuke to be one that embraced the nudist culture; but, hey, whatever floats his boat.

He blatantly ignored her last question and stated, "You're heavy." He knew he had rekindled a flame within her stomach; she was bound to be triggered by such an innocent statement. He groaned lightly when he felt her legs wrap around his waist from behind. She was playing with fire, and if she kept it up, he couldn't promise she wouldn't get burnt.

It was even worse, because he knew he didn't have time to fool around with her—especially not in his room, when his entire family probably didn't even know she was here.

Sakura wiggled around a tad more against him, and finally squeezed. "You bastard!" Sakura growled, her arms readying for the Sleeper Hold position. She would make him pay for implying that she was fat—which she _knew_ he wasn't trying to say that, but she couldn't pass up the opportunity to beat up an Uchiha.

Sasuke spun around at hearing a hard knock at the door. With cat-like reflexes, Sasuke quickly fell backwards so that he was able to switch the girl's body to where she was sitting atop of him, straddling his groin. The Uchiha reached his left hand to the small of her back and pressed her body down onto his. He closed his eyes for a half-second, clearing his thoughts of all of the dirty things he could be conjuring up with Sakura at this very moment. "Shut up," Sasuke muttered under his breath, his words grazing the shell of her ear. He placed his free hand against her mouth, the other one pressing her a little harder against his body—it couldn't hurt to press her a little closer to him…or even a little bit more closer…

He listened as the door finally opened and the footsteps slowly began to head towards the center of his room. Sasuke sighed with aggravation and set Sakura on the ground next to him, signaling for her to slide underneath his bed. He prayed to whatever was up there that she could maintain her high-temper for the time being, at least.

With a smirk plastered on his face, Sasuke winked at her and pressed his lips lightening fast against the corner of hers, simple and chaste. The anger that was once spurring fire in her eyes deceased, and an unknown emotion replaced it. He looked away and took his stand. "Who the fuck's in here?" Sasuke growled, highly annoyed. Sasuke took note as his father took the corner; Fugaku had a peeved expression planted on his face, as well.

"I need to talk to you," Fugaku demanded, stepping closer and closer to the youngest Uchiha's bed.

Sasuke massaged a hand against his scalp and sighed. "What _now_?" Sasuke hissed, sending a glare to his father. There was no way that his father was going to have the audacity to ruin his life any further—Sasuke had to argue that the man must have at least _some_ of a heart.

However, when Sasuke tried to meet his father's eyes, he realized that his father was much more focused on something else. There was an eerie, dramatic silence that filled the room as Sasuke decided to follow Fugaku's orbs, looking for what could have possibly piqued his father's interest enough to hesitate in his orders. Fugaku's expression was beyond what Sasuke could determine as shock; and, now, so was Sasuke's.

Something was_most definitely_flapping out of someone's boxers.

* * *

**End of Chapter 3**

* * *

******Author's Note**: Reviews are appreciated! I like to hear your opinions, constructive criticisms, conversations, and input!

EWHH its Kenna


	4. Take 4: An Arranged Relationship!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto

**Author's Note**: Work hard, play hard, dawgs. Oh leh do it. \m/

* * *

**Stereotyping Uchiha's**

Where the Shock Sets and the Stomach Acid, Finds a New Way to Make You Get Sick.

* * *

His onyx orbs averted down to see what Fugaku had been blatantly staring at. In recognition, the Uchiha completely flushed at the thought of his father seeing him in the open. Bringing both of his hands to his groin, he covered the area that Fugaku had previously been staring at. _Well, this is rather…awkward_, Sasuke thought in dire regret. There was a slight blush of embarrassment on his cheeks, and he didn't even bother trying to hide it. What was the point? Everything was already seen, there was nothing to cover—so, why did he try to hide his manhood?

"Get out." Sasuke yelled, bewildered at the scenario. He couldn't envision a more awkward moment he could have been placed in. At this very moment, he hated his life. This statement wasn't meant to be drastic, it was meant to keep whatever sanity the younger Uchiha had left. The last thing he ever wanted was for his father to be staring at his inheritance—it _was_ rather awkward, and he felt no regret admitting it.

"Get out!" Sasuke growled, ducking down behind his bed, tucking his manhood back into his boxers. Hiding behind his bed was the only logical action response that Sasuke could think of; else wise, he would be standing in front of his father, tucking himself back in. That definitely wasn't the most pleasant experience.

Fugaku looked at his son with bewilderment, something he wasn't used to. He didn't necessarily consider the thought that he was going to walk into Sasuke's room to where he was partially naked. He supposed he should have waited for Sasuke to answer before walking in, but he had already surpassed that concept. Sighing, Fugaku disregarded Sasuke's unnecessary temper and continued to let his mind wander at the situation. "Well… I mean, at least you inherited the package," his father mentioned, his eyes still averted towards the wall. "Even though you don't use it," Fugaku muttered under his breath, not so inaudibly.

Sasuke gagged at the thought that Fugaku had just compared his penis to the younger Uchiha's. That was definitely the last thing that Sasuke had wanted to hear, less expected to hear. He really did _despise_ father-son bonding. Sasuke was still lying on the ground, in efforts that his father would have left by now—apparently, his desperation was ignored.

Under the bed, Sakura was ready to die. The pink head girl had definitely gotten more than she had initially bargained for when she decided to sneak into Sasuke's room. She had decided to surprised him after seeing him at the store, and now…she regretted making that decision. Mainly she regretted the decision considering the fact that she was hiding underneath a bed while Sasuke and his father were having a conversation; the next part, well…that was more, per se, _intimate_.

Oh.

_It_ was out of it's pocket.

…_Oh!_

She was being smothered to death by Sasuke while _it_ was out of it's pocket.

…_OH!_

A furious blush began to spread on her cheeks. She tried to ignore the fact that his _thing_ had been touching her—his _penis_. She giggled, flustered at the idea of it. Of course, they had fooled around before, and she had seen him fully naked; but, this was different. She hadn't been expecting him to be presenting all of the most intimate parts of his body, specifically his _manhood. _For some reason, one she couldn't completely ignore, it made her blush.

She considered what it would be like to actually have _sex_ with Sasuke. She didn't know whether or not she was ready, or whether or not she wanted to. She did like Sasuke, she could possibly even consider more than that; but, she wasn't sure. She didn't want to make a foolish mistake if she wasn't sure. She shook her head, trying to rid her thoughts of everything that had just occurred.

"Sasuke," Fugaku said, his eyes grazing everything around the room, except for him, "you have to get ready for the festival." He wanted to make sure that Sasuke wasn't going to try and avoid going with Ino to the festival—he already understood that Sasuke didn't necessarily _appreciate_ spending time with the blonde girl_. If only Sasuke were less opinionated_, Fugaku thought. It would have been so much easier to convince him to considering Ino if Sasuke hadn't met that girl. _Sakura,_ Fugaku realized, remembering the information that Itachi had told him.

Sakura's ears perked. This was the perfect moment to eavesdrop on an intense Uchiha conversation—something that most people weren't able to be incorporated in. The Uchiha's always held so many secrets that she had wanted to know, and now this was her opportunity. She let an inaudible sigh escape her lips as she placed her right hand over her emerald eyes. She now had the opportunity to listen into actual Uchiha conversation without being notice—except for Sasuke, of course; but, she doubted he would really care.

However, she didn't realize in her ignorance, he _did_ care. Sasuke's onyx eyes narrowed as he stared at his postured father. His stare, however, was slowly narrowing into a glare; he scoffed, "I know." How was Sasuke supposed to forget? He understood that he was constricted to a narrow chain that tied him to Ino. Hell, he was supposedly _betrothed_ to the woman!

Not only the concept that his boxers weren't properly working, but the fact that Sakura was also in the room—without her previously have realizing that his manhood was outside of his boxers—made him anxious. The last thing he needed was for Sakura to find out anything about the betrothal. He didn't expect her to hear anything about that, but if Fugaku mentioned that he was going to the festival with Ino, he knew that she would figure it out. He acknowledged that Sakura was a very intelligent girl, and with the slightest hint of anything, she would be able to figure out the entirety of a dilemma.

Sakura's breath hitched. Sasuke's insolence was ruining her once-in-a-lifetime moment to hear an all-out Uchiha conversation! She scrunched her nose and furrowed her brows in spite; he better not ruin this for her. She wanted the experience to understand the secrets of the Uchiha clan—this was her opportunity. She grimaced, _gah! Why was everything always so secretive?_

Sakura clamped her lips shut, swallowing a large gulp of air. She mused at all the secrets that the Uchiha's could possibly be hiding. Maybe…just maybe they were a group of elite ninjas that were planning on corrupting and usurping the government. Just maybe… It was a ludicrous thought, but nothing was impossible. She let her mind wonder.

"I'll come back later to check if you are ready; hopefully, you will be more…_presentable_ next time," Fugaku finished. He shrugged off his child's rude behavior and turned to leave. There wasn't much else for him to say, however, before he opened the door, he mentioned, "just hurry up."

The door finally closed.

Sasuke was rather surprised to have witnessed his father leave so easily—usually Fugaku was just as hardheaded as Naruto was. The concept of his father having let Sasuke finish his business when he wanted to talk…it sent a premonition of some more (most likely horrible) news to come within his impending future. Sasuke's contorted at the idea of Fugaku having more plans for him; but, what could be worse than _betrothing_ his son? Sasuke didn't have an answer.

A scowl appeared on the Uchiha's face. Why the hell was his father so damn pushy anyways? Was it really necessary to betroth him before Itachi? Itachi didn't even have a girlfriend, let alone a girl that he was interested in! Sasuke thought,_ with the exception of Sakura_… The frown that was present on his face deepened. Itachi could pose a very prominent dilemma within his current situation; and, he didn't like that.

Why his father was rushing this marriage, he didn't know. He sure as hell knew that the world wasn't going to end in six months—there must have been some catch. A growl was produced from the stem of his throat and he turned around to face the closet. An exasperated sigh escaped through his thin lips as he stretched. He had to wait to make sure that his father was a decent distance away before he could consider retrieving Sakura from the depths of underneath his bed.

Sakura's blush deepened as she watched his figure move side to side, forwards, then backwards; she could see his movements pause understanding that he was checking if it was safe. He furrowed his brow and placed his hands on his hips for a short moment, pondering. "How did you even get here without anyone noticing you?" Sasuke asked, from his tone she could tell that he was peeved. The Uchiha's left hand seceded from his hip and he brought it down, signaling for her to come out from underneath his bed.

Sakura, wishing to recoil the prominent blush gracing her cheeks, tried to force a more pallor expression to overtake the red—it didn't work. She just didn't want to embarrass Sasuke even more by letting him notice her blush. If he were to see it, she was positive that he would figure out that she saw [and felt] _it_ when he gracelessly pushed her down.

Sakura squiggled her way out from underneath the bed and pressed her palms against her cheeks. "Well, you see…" Sakura whispered. A pregnant pause mingled between them before she considered how to finish her sentence. "… I'm a ninja."

Sasuke's demeanor dropped and he gave her his '_you're-a-fucking-idiot_' look. He rolled his eyes when she winked at him and threw up a peace sign, all the while sticking out her tongue. He recognized this as the "Sailor Sakura" pose. She had taken a liking to the pose before he had even met her; it was the signature pose of her idol, Sailor Moon. _How juvenile,_ Sasuke sneered in his head. He knew for a fact that she used to practice this pose in front of a mirror a _minimum_ of fifty times a day her entire sophomore year.

He snorted at her absurdity. "Hn."

"Shh! It's a secret!" Sakura giggled, "so you better not tell anyone; or, I'll probably have to kill you."

"Whatever."

Sakura twitched in annoyance to his reply; Sasuke couldn't possibly care less. If she was going to act like a child, he would treat her like a child—it's not his fault he didn't have a high tolerance for kids.

When he kept to his silence, Sakura realized that he was focused on something rather important; else wise, he wouldn't be _that_ anti-social. She narrowed her eyes and furrowed her brows. _What could he possibly be thinking about?_ She wondered. "Neh, Sasuke?" Sakura accidentally said aloud. She awkwardly scratched her arm when he didn't respond to her. When Sasuke was this intent on thinking about something, Sakura always could only assume the worst.

"Anyway!" Sakura shouted, smiling in efforts to lighten the newly awkward mood. "Did you decide if you're going to come with me?"

Sasuke smirked mischievously as he picked out a pair of jeans. After grabbing an Uchiha printed shirt as well, he tossed his outfit onto his comforter and finally turned to face Sakura. Walking slowly up to her, placing their bodies merely inches away, he looked down upon her. Emerald eyes blinked as they tried to focus on his facial expressions—his face was serious, then completely expressionless.

He suddenly let his face slowly lower down, bringing it far enough down to where their noses could touch. Sasuke stared intently into her innocent emeralds as one damned, giant smirk plastered onto his pale face. His lips softly fell ajar, tickling her own with his warm breath.

His lips were itching to press forward.

"By any chance…" Sakura mumbled, realizing that she had been holding her breath. Her eyes averted from his onyx orbs and stared at his lips, the ones that were inching closer and closer, slowly tilting. The blush that had been flourishing on her face was more than noticeable and she let out a soft purr. "…did you just have quesadillas?"

Sasuke's mouth hung open and he lost his composure, jerking far back from Sakura. "_What_?"

A sheepish grin appeared on the pink haired girl's face. She shrugged and stared blankly at him; her blush, however, was still present. "I didn't think you'd get embarrassed by that."

"Whatever." Sasuke hissed as he spun on his right heel. "I have to change," he grumbled, trying to hint that she should leave.

Sakura laughed, "don't be so juvenile."

"You're calling _me_ juvenile?" Sasuke asked, snorting at her clearly flawed viewpoint.

Sakura nodded. "I didn't think you were deaf, as well." She noticed that he wasn't facing her, still probably embarrassed by her refusal to kiss him. _I'm not going to kiss that bastard, unless he agrees to coming to the festival with me_. Sakura thought, haughtily. She had dignity, a certain sense of pride; and, she was obdurate—he had to earn the right to kiss her. _Well_… she thought, …_most of the time. _

She placed herself upon her tip-toes and patted his raven hair. "Listen, I'm sorry," she huffed, continuing to muster his locks in various directions. "I didn't realize you were that hardheaded when it came to kissing me."

"I don't need to kiss you."

Sakura scoffed. "You don't need to kiss me like Kaka-sensei doesn't need porn. Kissing me _is_ your porn, Sasuke." She would admit that she did take pride in the fact that Sasuke always itched to kiss her.

"You're confusing kissing with fooling around." Sasuke corrected, smirking. "I don't _need_ to kiss you."

Sakura was taken aback. She knew that Sasuke was just trying to stroke his male-ego by being _right_; but, that didn't mean that he didn't just imply that he didn't care for kissing her, only fooling around. "Well," Sakura whispered, "if that's the case, I guess I'll just find someone who _does_ like to kiss me."

He looked away when he heard the hurt that was clearly present in her voice. He didn't mean it like _that_; and, another fight between them would only present another dilemma to his current betrothal situation. "Sakura," Sasuke began, trying to find some redemption in what he had previously said, "you're being a fool. I didn't mean it like that."

"I'm the fool." Sakura reiterated. She closed her eyes and sighed, nodding her head at the same time. "You're right, Sasuke. I _am_ the fool—I've been pretty fucking ignorant. Thankfully, you've made your intentions perfectly clear."

"I have to change," Sasuke deadpanned. He didn't have time for this; his father was going to be back up soon. It seemed that Sakura was already set on being stubborn about his defensive personality and he would have to give her time to cool down. The problem was he didn't really _have_ time. He didn't have time to wait for Sakura to cool down; he didn't have time to figure out another way to apologize to her for being upset about semantics; and, he didn't have time to let their relationship go backwards.

"It's not like I haven't seen anything," Sakura scowled, putting her hands on her hips. He could tell that she was getting ready to have a long, heated argument with him. Which, if he had the time for it, he knew would end up in her forgiving him and them messing around. If only time were on his side…

He snarled, "_leave_."

"Pompous, perverted _asshole_," Sakura began cursing under her breath, making sure it was loud enough so he could hear. A triumphant, sly smirk appeared on her plump lips as she marched out of Sasuke's room—one which he noticed and cursed at.

When she departed from his room, Sasuke groaned. When she had a triumphant smirk on her lips at the end of an argument, he _knew_ that she was planning something that would piss him off. "_Fuck_," Sasuke cursed, massaging his temples. Why did he always have to argue with her? Something about him losing to her, or backing down from an argument, always pissed him off; but, he was always more annoyed when she ended up mad at him. When he won an argument, he still lost; when he lost an argument, he still lost.

-x- ** O** -x-

Stealthily, Sakura pushed open the door of the room to the right of Sasuke's. The window that was directly in front of the door had a tree in front of it—the perfect access to entering the Uchiha manor. She didn't exactly _lie_ when she claimed she was a ninja, she _did_ climb up the tree and maneuver her way into his house via a window—that took a good amount of skills.

As she entered the room and walked to what she determined the half-way mark, she realized that there was a figure shuffling in front of her. She flushed and readied herself to let out a high-pitched scream; however, her efforts were subdued when she felt a large hand cover her parted lips. In front of her, low-and behold, stood a completely butt-naked Uchiha. "Don't _scream_," he demanded.

Sakura nodded and, with hesitance, Itachi removed his hand from her face. Itachi turned around and grabbed a towel from his bed, slowly wrapping it around his hipbones, eventually covering his groin. It seemed that his composure was hard to fall; for when he turned around, his face was as expressionless as it was when he warned her. She shivered when her beryl green pools met with his blank obsidian eyes—she couldn't read anything that was going through his head.

That was, of course, until she noticed the slight tug at the corner of lips—a frown of disapproval; however, in mere seconds the frown dragged up into a mischievous smirk. "_Excuse_ you," Itachi drawled. He wrapped off the towel to make sure it wouldn't fall, before he ran his right hand through his long locks.

Sakrua's hands automatically shot up, covering her eyes and she tried to face the other way, backing up. "I-I'm so s…sorry!" Sakura stuttered, obviously flustered by the unexpected experience. She hoped that she would be able to hide her blatant blush of attraction, and embarrassment, by holding her hands to her face. "As you may have noticed, I wasn't… Well, I _did_, but… I mean, I wasn't _originally_ paying attention when I entered; and, then when I did enter—"

"No need for explanation, Sakura." Itachi shook his head, gesturing her for her to stop. He already understood what happened—he could hear the argument between him and Sakura; and, he was to assume that she had initially planned on leaving through his window, anyway.

"—I kind of saw things that I didn't want to—"

He sighed. She didn't have to put it like _that_.

"—well, not that I didn't want to…but, ya'know—"

He smirked. _That's better._ He suavely walked up to her and placed both of his hands on her shoulders, leaning down. "Calm down, Sakura." His head was cocked, slightly tilted when something bordering on concern—both of them knew, however, it wasn't. His long, slender pointer finger dragged its way from her clavicle to the bottom of her chin, tilting it up. He shrugged, stating, "it's nothing to worry about." He then captured both of her wrists with his free hand, and tugged them down to her sides. Her glazed, green eyes lowered, still utterly embarrassed by seeing him naked, especially with him embracing it as though it were nothing of out the ordinary.

"—that was kind of inappropriate for me to say..." She mumbled, shuddering underneath his touch. At their proximity, Sakura's eyes widened when she noticed a small droplet of water trail down his well-defined, sun-tanned chest. She watched it as it finally absorbed into the black, cotton towel. "U-Um," Sakura breathed. She didn't know what to do, or what to say.

"You're upset." Itachi stated, noticing the crinkle in her brow and how she began biting her lip. "Why?" He asked, already knowing. The fight between Sasuke and Sakura hadn't been quiet by any means, he had actually heard a great deal of it, and he had to chuckle at how foolish Sasuke had been.

Sakura huffed, anger reappearing at the thought of Sasuke. "Well, Sasuke basically told me he just wants to fool around with me, _and_ that he hates kissing me; and, I just accidentally walked in on you naked, which means that you're probably mad at me."

"I'm not mad at you," Itachi corrected, bending down and capturing her lips. Sakura didn't move, her hands still awkwardly placed at her sides. Of course, she knew Itachi, she had hung out with him, even been on a couple dates with him—but, this…this was unexpected; and what worried her most was the fact that she didn't know if it was in the bad way or not. If Sasuke was upset with her, she didn't care anymore—he had made his intentions with her perfectly clear. She leaned forward, placing her hands on his chest, and deepened the kiss.

Tracing his bottom lip with her tongue, she gained access and hesitantly began exploring the new cavern, memorizing every part of him. She felt his hands move to her petite waist, tracing small, sensual circles against her sides. It felt…_good_. He then pulled back, not wanting to go further than necessary. It seemed that he was capturing his breath, when he said, "nor do I dislike kissing you." His smirk caused her to blush further, and she didn't know how to respond. She couldn't believe she just kissed Itachi; she couldn't believe _she_ deepened the kiss, either!

"Why not attend the festival with me tonight?" Itachi asked, his hands still firmly placed on her sides never stopping their ministrations.

"W-What?" Sakura breathed, still flustered by all the scenarios that had just recently occurred.

Itachi decided it was best to present her with an initiative plan, before taking anything further than for what she was ready for. "It seems that Sasuke has no intentions of going to the festival with you, so why not go with someone who is the most similar to him?" Itachi remarked. "I do look like my younger brother," he suggested. "We can pretend…—that is, until you see me, instead of him."

"I-Itachi," Sakura hushed, not quite understanding what he was proposing. "I don't want to _use_ you!" She shook her head, mustering, _"_that would be awful of me."

"It'll be a…symbiotic relationship." Itachi claimed, shrugging. "I wish to spend more time with you; and, eventually, you will learn to enjoy spending time with me, anyway." He could see the disbelief in her eyes. "Listen," he deadpanned, "neither one of use is going to be negatively affected by this agreement—we can only benefit."

Sakura was wary of his solution; but, considered it. He _was_ a good kisser—a very good kisser, in fact. "I hope you realize I already enjoy spending time with you, and that's _not_ because you look like Sasuke," she defended. What did he take her for? Her world didn't revolve around Sasuke!

"Then it seems my proposal is better than I initially expected," Itachi stated, smirking. Oh how he was going to cherish every moment of this potential relationship—Sasuke was going to be destroyed at the thought of it.

Sakura pushed away the doubts that seemed to be plaguing her choice, and she grabbed his chin. "Fine," Sakura answered, pulling him down into another kiss. "Only because you're such a good kisser," Sakura mumbled in between the kisses. Itachi couldn't help but marvel in amusement at the way Sakura had a smirk of her own, playing against his skin.

She only agreed because Sasuke made it apparent that he wasn't going with her; she only agreed because it seemed that Sasuke had no interest in her, other than sexually; and, she only agreed because it was…well, convenient.

Itachi chuckled when he watched her turn around and close the door to his room. He hadn't initially planned on having any physical relationship with the girl, but he wasn't one to complain. It seemed the girl was as manipulative as him; they knew that they both had their ulterior motives. He watched as she turned back around to face him, glazed eyes and a playful smile. She began stalking back up to him, who was now sitting on the bed.

She sat on his lap, facing him, with her feet dangling off the bed, straddling him. Her hands wrapped around his neck, slowly dragging him back into her venomous kiss. He didn't even understand how Sasuke had claimed that he didn't need to kiss her; Itachi wryly grimaced at the thought that he didn't think he could deny them.

_Oh yes, _this relationship was _definitely_ going to be enjoyable.

He entwined his own hands around her body, encircling her by the small of her back before abruptly tugging her towards him. "Perfect," she heard him breathe as he dragged her into another heart-wrenching kiss.

She closed her eyes. She knew she was going to regret this.

* * *

The snaps and cracks of the fireworks filtered into her ears as she stared blankly at the filled street. She regretted at this very moment agreeing to meet up with Naruto, Sai, and Hinata; because, she didn't know how they would react to seeing her with Itachi. Knowing Naruto, she highly doubted he would even notice much, but the rest of them, on the other hand… Well, none of those kids were too tight-lipped, except Hinata, of course.

Initially, she had wanted to dress up traditionally for the festival, but everything started a downhill slide when no one would agree to do it with her, nor the whole last minute finding of a date. Instead, she made do with her tight red dress that she had picked out from the store earlier that day. It wrapped around her delicate figure, displaying her tight waist and usually hidden curves. The single strapped stretch up her right shoulder intricately beaded with monotone black and grays that it caused many to stare.

Itachi dwelled in lust over the young nymphet's color choice, yet had the decency to avoid displaying such brunt, raw expressions; however, he did settle for a polite comment, instead. "You look absolutely ravishing tonight, Sakura," Itachi drawled, his left hand gripping the side of her waist, leading her through the endless sea of people before them. Her hands had already attached to his side, making sure she wasn't lost in the process of transitioning to find Naruto and the rest. The last thing she wanted to do was get lost at _Hina Matsuri_—knowing all too well that she would never be able to find any of her friends the rest of the night if she were to.

"Thank you!" A grin appeared on her face and she looked up at him, emeralds shining underneath the kaleidoscopic glitter of the exploding fireworks. "As do you, Itachi," Sakura said, noticing his rather formal button down and pants. No matter how much she cared for Sasuke, she would never be able to deny the fact that she was attracted to his older brother. She noticed his hold grow a little tighter around her body, sensually squeezing a sweet spot he had found earlier. She mewled, swatting his hand away, completely flushed.

"I'm pretty sure Naruto said that they were at Ichiraku," Sakura whimpered, stifling a moan from his attention to her waist. She couldn't tell whether or not Itachi was purposefully rubbing her side, or if it was simply an involuntary action, unbeknownst to him. From what she knew of Itachi, he wasn't to be underestimated; however, he was a suave, mysterious guy, and she highly doubted him a fan of PDA. She took it upon herself to assume the latter—he didn't even know he was doing it.

And, unknown to her, she was right. Itachi hadn't realized that he was slowly stroking her side as he safely guided her towards Konoha's famous ramen stand. He was solely focused on getting her from Point A to Point B to Point C.

Of course, Point A was Ichiraku. There he knew he would have to deal with Sasuke's idiot friend, Naruto—which he did appreciate, to an _extent_; and, whoever else he was with, so presumably some indistinguishable characters that don't often talk. Sasuke seemed to know many of these types of people, Itachi had noticed over the years—with the exceptions of Naruto and Sakura.

"Sakura-chan!"

She turned around as her hands reflexively flung away from Itachi's body; however, his hand remained wrapped around her waist. "Naruto," she greeted as a beautiful smile formed on her plump lips. "How have you been enjoying the festival so far?" She asked. Looking around at the others in the group, she noticed something askew. "Where is Hinata…and Sai?"

Naruto scratched his head, bewildered by the interrogation. "Well, uh, you see… Hinata went to go find her little sister, Hinabi, and Sai went with her, because I still had to finish eating; but, they should be back soon; and, it's been pretty good! Woah…—" Naruto paused, staring at the older Uchiha in front of him. "Why is Sasuke's brother here?"

Upon hearing this, Itachi slightly twitched, his lip tugging at the corner. He _had_ a name. "Itachi," the man coolly interjected with a frown of disapproval ever-present on his lips.

The blond disregarded Itachi in a completely disinterested fashion. "Yeah, anyways," Naruto transitioned—now trying to blatantly ignoring Itachi's glare, but failing miserably at it—staring at Sakura again, "where's Sasuke?"

Sakura frowned and averted her eyes. "I don't know… Guess he wasn't coming," Sakura vindictively drawled, shrugging off the topic. She felt Itachi's hand begin doing the same ministrations as earlier; and, this time, she was thankful. It tugged her away from disappointedly pondering on why Sasuke refused on coming with her, and, especially of how Sasuke claimed he only liked to fool around with her. _And he called me the fool_, Sakura thought, ruefully.

"Really..?" Naruto asked, letting out a surprised laugh. "I could have sworn that bastard was coming…. Eh, Sakura-chan…" Naruto mustered, "what's that red mark on your neck?" His pointer finger reached out to touch the nape of neck, where a not-too-faint purplish red mark resided.

_Fuck_! Sakura cursed at herself, how didn't she notice the hickey that Itachi left? They both had checked themselves, each one wanting to make sure there was no evidence of one another left behind. Before Naruto's finger was able to reach out and touch it, Itachi swiftly grasped his wrist and looked at him. "There were many mosquitoes out earlier near the lake." Itachi hastily claimed. "The fireworks are beautiful, but there are too many bugs out to enjoy them from so close. We were on our way heading to different ground for a better view before we ran into you," Itachi stated in a matter-of-fact tone. Sakura was amazed at how quickly he was able to construct such a viable story.

"Y-Yeah," Sakura agreed, nodding several times. "The bugs are quite atrocious over there. Hopefully you find a better place to bring Hinata—even if the lake was rather romantic…" Sakura drifted off, acting as though she were hopeful for another night by the lake to enjoy the beauty of fireworks.

Naruto stared at her in a peculiar way, something between baffled and suspicious. "Thanks for the idea, Sakura-chan!" He exclaimed, anticipating Hinata's arrival to show her the fireworks. However, his smile slightly faltered when he realized how close together Sakura and Itachi were standing—much closer than they should have been. "Hey, what's going on with you and Sasuke?" Naruto asked, his voice filled with poignant concern.

Sakura hesitated and blinked at him, not sure of how to respond. She finally shrugged and looked up at Itachi, smiling. "Absolutely nothing," she mindlessly said, a pain carefully hidden in her voice. "Absolutely nothing," she reiterated a second time, trying to reassure herself more than anyone else.

Naruto eyed her, readying himself to ask another series of questions, before Itachi interrupted his thought process. "Sakura, I believe that the second set of fireworks is going to be displayed in a few minutes." She looked at him with doe-like eyes, waiting for him to sweep her off her feet. "Shall we go?" He nodded his head in a direction, signaling for her to follow his lead.

She smiled, beryl eyes radiating a shine underneath the glimmer of stars above. "I would _love_ to, Itachi," she seductively whispered into the crisp air. Her fingers entwined with the ones that were on her stomach, and she hummed a soft traditional tune her mother used to sing to her.

She loved how Itachi was able to save her from situations the moment it started going in upheaval. In seconds, he would be able to knit together a story that would be plausible for the audience, and give them an excuse to leave. In making these stories, she was able to improvise in, as well, and add to anything she wanted. At the very end was what she cherished most, laughing about it with him. There was something too sweet and heart-numbing whenever she saw him truly smile, or actually laugh. Maybe because he seemed more human and less like a prodigal son; maybe because it was his honest self that he didn't have to hide from the world.

Whatever it was, Sakura wasn't sure if she liked loving the small things about him. She felt that she might be dragging herself too deep in this relationship; but, there was something too tempting to make her stop—and, she hated to think that it could have been Sasuke that wouldn't let her stop.

"What's that?" Itachi asked, referring to her sweet song that she was humming.

Sakura shrugged and gleamed up at him. She noticed a small, nostalgic smile that was playing lightly on Itachi's lips, and she couldn't help but smile in return. "Absolutely nothing."

It was in this moment where she worried that what was supposed to be a symbiotic relationship, might be turning into something quite worse for her. She didn't know how long she'd be able to control herself before she started to like Itachi.

All she could do was hope that Sasuke would come to realization before her heart did.

-x- ** O** -x-

Point B was the Hokage rooftop, the second place that Itachi had led Sakura to. At the top of the roof, he was certain that he would be able to scope out his little brother at the festival. When he did spot him, he and Sakura would go for a walk and "accidentally" run into Sasuke and his little fiancé, Ino. Itachi knew how well each one of them worked and had already concocted the potential outcomes along with the most reasonable solutions.

Sakura was swiftly swinging her legs to and fro, to and fro at the edge of the Hokage's tower. She was in awe that Itachi had been able to get them on top of the Hokage's tower. She wondered, at the same time, how he was able to gain access to such a highly qualified area; however, she didn't care to ask—there was no point in ruining a perfectly romantic moment. "Thank you," Sakura mumbled, barely audible, "for all of this."

She had been leaning against Itachi's shoulder, and the moment she expressed her gratitude, she felt him stiffen underneath her. "You're welcome," Itachi replied, hesitantly. He wasn't used to gratitude for such menial things; it was flattering, though still unnecessary. He almost felt something akin to guilt well at the pit of his stomach; but, he ignored the unusual feeling, pushing it off as slight nausea. "Have you enjoyed your time thus far?"

Initially, Sakura had been hesitant about Itachi's offer—being with him in efforts to fill the void that Sasuke once filled. After her argument with Sasuke, she didn't care that she kissed Itachi, she was still heated and angry and looking for a way to vent when she ran into Itachi. But, when she went to the festival, she had originally set out to avoid getting _too_ close to him. Something about his personality though… He was just so alluring, so charismatic that she couldn't help but be drawn closer to him.

He always listened to what she had to say; he would add respective opinions, that were well thought out and articulated; he hesitantly, but assuredly would start conversations with her, to get to know her; and, he did small gestures that were so polite and thoughtful, that… Well, she couldn't help but get attached to him.

She wasn't used to well-mannered Uchihas, except Madara. Izuna and Sasuke were too much alike and Obito and Shisui were too much like Naruto. She wondered why Uchihas seemed to be on either extreme of a personality spectrum, never in the middle.

She enjoyed being able to just sit on the rooftop with him and stare at the stunning scenery before them, because she knew that he was actually taking the view in as well. She knew that if Sasuke was with her, all he would be doing was grunting or complaining. She took in a deep breath, _Sasuke_… She didn't even truly understand how their argument had come about or why.

Then again, she didn't even understand why he wouldn't attend the festival with her. She was his closest female friend, and she honestly thought that there was something more between them than just friendship. _But_, she begrudgingly though,_ I have been wrong before._ She let out a light sigh, trying to compose herself before she let Itachi notice.

Sakura's pink pastel locks gracefully scattered this way and that, adding more extravagance to her already adorn face. She smiled when she turned to look back at Itachi. "Neh, are you enjoying yourself, Itachi?" Sakura asked apprehensively. She was worried that she might be start boring him if they stayed here. She didn't realize that as she was asking her question, one of her shoes had been dangling further and further off her foot. "Ah, shit!" Sakura cursed to herself.

Catching herself too late, Sakura hid her mouth in offense that she cursed aloud as her other hand tried to reach down for her falling shoe. Itachi's hand darted out, whipping her entire body backwards, to where she fell upon his chest. She let out a huff in aggravation as she sat up, straddling his groin. "I'm sorry, Itachi!" Sakura hurriedly apologized. She then snapped to herself and furrowed her brow. "I almost had it."

"I'd rather not lose both the shoe and you." A smooth, velvet-like chuckle escaped from the Uchiha's lips, amused at her naïve antics. He noticed the peeved look she was giving him, mainly due to the fact that she was still trying to comprehend the abrupt loss of her shoe. "Anyway, the shoe is nothing compared," Itachi mentioned, sitting up so that his chest pressed against her back.

She rolled her eyes at his petty compliment, but blushed nonetheless. "It seems that the Uchiha clan has finally bore a prodigal of flattery." Sakura mentioned, highly sardonic; yet, her tone was still appreciative and sweet.

Itachi smirked at her teasing. He finally shrugged and stated, "Virtuoso _is _my middle name."

"Lies don't seem to be your forte," Sakura laughed, pecking him on the lips. Sakura hopped up to her feet and spun around to face him, pointing at the stairway in the same process. She grinned in delight when she noticed him beginning to stand up. Offering her hand, which he accepted, she helped up the older Uchiha and locked their fingers. "I need to get my shoe."

Itachi winced, wryly admitting to wishing that she was wrong. "Haste makes waste," Itachi chided, pointing out the obvious. "I see no need to rush." He didn't really feel like walking downstairs and moving on to Point C. He was enjoying partaking in the witty bickering and mindless conversation they would have; plus, the scenery was very peaceful. He _liked_ peaceful.

"You've been hanging out too much with Kakashi, if _you're_ saying that, oh great Virtuoso." Sakura deadpanned, mimicking a bow towards Itachi. "Plus, I don't want someone to steal my sandal."

Itachi's hand shot out and grabbed her wrist, slowing her to a stop. She turned around to give him a questioning look, but her look ceased when she noticed the smirk ever-present on his lips. "No one will want that sandal, Sakura." He tugged her closer to him and leaned on her, his other arm hanging lazily on her opposite shoulder.

"I bet someone stole it _already_." Sakura snidely remarked, glaring at him. "You're just jealous."

"How did you know?" He sarcastically asked, chuckling at her childish remark.

-x- ** O** -x-

And, for his last act, his _finale_, was Point C: Sasuke.

Sakura laughed at Itachi's slightly juvenile antics of him leaning against her. He was trudging behind her his head on her left shoulder, while his arm was still encircled around her opposing shoulder. Sakura had to admit defeat a few minutes prior due to their bet on whether or not her shoe would still be attainable. It seemed no one stole it. Sakura hissed, "Just because you were right doesn't mean I'm supposed to be your back support the rest of the night."

"It doesn't?" Itachi asked, a feigned curiosity sparked in his tone. "I thought our bets were pretty clear though, Sakura."

"We didn't have any bets!" She exclaimed, leaning her shoulder down so his head would fall right off. Itachi caught onto her antics before she was able to pull it off, for he lifted his head, causing her to look foolish when she dipped her right shoulder. She growled in aggravation at how clever the older Uchiha was. "Damn you!" She whined, cocking her head up high to stare him down.

He smirked and patted her pink head. "If I won, you agreed to be my back support—age is getting to me, Sakura." He paused for a moment, thinking. "And, if you won, you'd have an entire night to ravish me in bed."

"I never agreed to that!"

Itachi shrugged. "Sometimes silence is the best answer."

"And which elder Uchiha did you quote?"

Itachi laughed at her response, yet said nothing. In his silence, Sakura took this opportunity to let her eyes wander and roam through the surrounding crowd. Many thoughts were running through her mind at seeing all of the loving couples before her—smiling and having fun.

She had spotted Naruto and Hinata again. They were eating at a sushi stand—Hinata's favorite. Sakura would have been surprised that Naruto was eating again, right after having gone to Ichiraku; but, then again… It _was_ Naruto. She shook her head and softly giggled to herself.

A little bit later into the walk, Sakura was able to spot out Neji with his recently attained girlfriend, Tenten. She rolled her eyes in distaste at seeing how they were _quite_ busy under a lamp-post a few yards away.

Sakura was still impressed at how fruitful the night had turned out. She was still taken aback by how much fun she was having being around Itachi. He didn't insult her like Sasuke occasionally did (even though he usually didn't mean it), and he listened (even if she was sure he didn't _always_ care)—

Before she could finish her analysis, something had caught her eye.

Several feet in front of her she saw raven black hair, messed and thrown in all directions, hovering next to a slightly smaller figure with long blonde hair. The blonde haired girl's head was resting upon his shoulder while her fingers gently stroked his arm, eventually reaching down to hold his hand. He faced her for a moment, where she met him equally for a chaste kiss. He then looked up and stared at the radiant full-moon above. The couple looked so…_loving_.

"I-Ita," Sakura stuttered, her grip tightening on his hand. She knew that her body was trembling, and she could tell Itachi knew too—the way he was pulling her closer to him, his fingers trailing their sensual designs on her side once again. "Itachi…" Sakura finally mustered out. She couldn't breathe, her breath lost somewhere long ago in her throat.

"Hn?" Itachi asked with a feigned concern in his voice. He knew that she was going to break; so, he did his best to hold her up—for putting her in this situation, he would at least do that much for her. Itachi's stare finally left her to see what her beryl green pools were focused on.

She couldn't bring herself to think; she didn't want to believe it; but, she had to know.

She had to be wrong.

She needed to be wrong.

"Is… Is t-that—?"

Itachi suppressed a malicious smirk that desperately wanted to plaster itself on his face; he settled for a completely blank expression. He nodded his head while he tongue drawled out the answer, in its typical velvet tone, "Sasuke."

* * *

**End of Chapter 4**

* * *

**Author's Note**: Reviews are appreciated! I like to hear your opinions, constructive criticisms, conversations, and input!

EWHH its Kenna


	5. Take 5: The Love Song of Wise Cracks!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto

**Author's Note**: Ily, babyboos.

* * *

**Stereotyping Uchiha's**

What Comes Up, Must Come Down.

* * *

She didn't know how to react; her body felt as though it had been paralyzed, mid-step. Her senses were numbing, all of them except sight—she could only stand there and watch as the blond played with his hair, stroked his arm, and laughed at some perverse joke he must have made. Her hand that had been swinging up and down, up and down with Itachi's faltered, before finally breaking away from the older Uchiha's hold. She knew her lips were trembling and she couldn't bring herself to care when she felt her breath hitch in her throat.

She couldn't breathe—she was suffocating.

No matter how hard she tried to convince her eyes to remain on the couple, she seemed to lose focus. Her eyes were averting to the ground and they refused to look elsewhere. _I don't… I don't understand_, she thought as she bit her bottom lip roughly. She feared that if she were to blink, the forming tears would overflow from her eyelids and fall to the ground, shattering like priceless diamonds for the world to see.

Itachi's expression remained unfazed by the sight. Of course, he had expected to run into them in some sort of romantic act, but this was more than he had initially intended. From his and Sakura's angle, it appeared that Sasuke was enjoying his time with Ino, kissing her and letting her hold on to him. He gazed turned to Sakura the moment he saw her burst into tears; however, he was too fascinated by his little brother and his fiancé to be overly concerned with his date.

Itachi took a moment to decide his course of action, fully calculating the current scenario that all of them had been placed in. He bit back a smirk and looked up at the sky. "It seems that there will be a storm tonight," he whispered into the wind, his words disregarded by all those around him.

Finally, his plan was put into action.

"Sakura," Itachi cooed, placing a comforting palm on the back of her unnaturally warm neck. The Uchiha tilted her head so she was facing his body and brought her into his chest. "Are you alright?" He asked, a feigned concern dripping from each word.

A smirk played upon his lips when he felt Sakura put her quivering hands against his chest, her head buried just below his neck. Soon enough, whatever space that was previously between them had successfully depleted to none. He felt her fingers grasp his shirt, holding her to him; and, he felt her body continue to quaver as she shook her head. "N-No…" Sakura breathed, taking in a deep breath, trying to calm herself down.

Itachi's hand that was placed on the back of her neck slowly moved to the top of her pale pink hair, while his other held her against him by the small of her back.

"S-Sasu…ke?"

He felt the wetness of her tears begin to sink into his shirt and he amusement filtered throughout his mind with how easy his plan was to falling into place. His fingers trickled through her hair, massaging her scalp, while the hand on her back made sensual, comforting circles. "I wonder what she means to him," Itachi mused aloud, knowing Sakura would hang on to very single word he breathed.

Itachi tilted her chin up by cocking her neck with his hand. "I wonder what you meant to him," he contemplated, leaning in to kiss her on the lips lightly. He knew those words would set her off. The moment he pulled away from her quaking lips, he noticed how her dying apple-green eyes reverted back to the couple once more. Sasuke was holding the girl's hand and staring directly into her sapphire eyes. Sakura shook her head; _they look so compatible for one another_… She closed her eyes; _they look like such a loving couple_… She turned back to face Itachi who was now staring at her with an unreadable expression. "I just want to forget," she mumbled under a hiccupped choke. She tugged him down and crashed her lips against his, pleading for entrance with her tongue—a request he was more than eager to reply with.

She finally pulled back, tears still steaming rivers of regret down her face; and her entire body was shivering as her lungs greedily panted for air.

She felt like she was drowning—drowning in all of this pain, all of this regret and sadness and futile hopes and lost dreams. She couldn't breathe. The hands that were placed against his chest started pressing against him, letting her grow independent of his hold. Itachi let her go freely, impressed that she was taking such initiative of her own. Seeing how unpredictable all of her actions had been thus far made him excited for his future plans.

He gave her a questioning look, bringing both of his hands back to his sides. His eyes caught the way her right foot took a step back, then her left foot; he watched impassively as the distance grew further and further between them.

Another hesitant footstep followed.

Then another—

Then there was a long, hesitant pause.

—and another

Itachi's mysterious obsidian eyes stared at her petite figure, taking note of every single one of her actions and reactions. He noted all of the emotions she was radiating, all of the feelings that her eyes displayed; her eyes were like an open book, which would surely pose a problem for her in her future. He watched as her mind was debating over the two extremes: _fight_ or _flight_.

He had calculated everything perfectly. Only moments ago was he able to spot Sasuke and Ino inside of the crowd by pure coincidence; he had figured they would have moved by the time that him and Sakura had come down from the Hokage's tower roof. When he had spotted out the couple, he had managed to switch his and Sakura's direction towards theirs—her too wrapped up in their conversation to notice. In all of his actions, he was able to meticulously measure all of the results and effects of every possible outcome in the scenario he had planned.

He had noticed how Ino had dragged Sasuke to stare at the lake and watch small ducklings swim across. The blonde had spoken loud enough earlier for him to overhear all of their impending actions, which had let to this very moment.

"Neh, Sasuke-kun! Let's go on one of those boats!" The girl exclaimed, pointing at all of the small canoes that were across the lake. A few had already passed by that evening, where the man would row while the woman tried to look exotic—holding their parasols and flashing their fake eyelashes an innumerable amount of times.

He had even noticed earlier how Sasuke had let his façade falter and had shown his true emotion: agony. Itachi was glad that Sakura was too engaged in their conversation to actually spy out any of these small keys. If she had, then the entirety of this situation might have played out very differently. The corner of his lips tugged up slightly, the girl seemed to be a much better catch that he had at first anticipated—she was unpredictable and predictable all in one, he couldn't seem to get bored; she was witty and intelligent, he was able to enjoy having conversations with her that he couldn't with most people; and, she was very attractive, something he wasn't one to normally admit.

Itachi watched the pink haired girl take one last cautious step back before she spun on her heel and sped off. He watched as she began running further and further down the street, ignoring the people she haphazardly bumped shoulders with and not giving a damned about anything. A feral grin appeared on Itachi's face, emphasizing his masculine jaw-line.

Everything had gone according to plan.

"_Perfect_," he drawled, running a cold palm through his bangs, pushing them away from his obscured vision. His eyes narrowed with excitement and the previously withheld smirk finally tainted his lips.

Itachi waited a few moments to let Sakura get a head start before he decided to call out the taboo that he was positive his target would hear: "Sakura!"

The moment he had heard it, his ears had perked.

"Sakura!"

His ears had perked, his body had completely paused in movement, and his eyes didn't know even know where to start looking. Sasuke stole his hand back from Ino's grasp and he averted his eyes, looking for the most plausible origin of the yelling. He heard it: _Sakura!_ Sakura was there; and, he could only assume that she had spotted him out in the crowd with Ino. _Fuck. Fuck my life._ Sasuke cursedly thought. This was just his luck.

And, to make it even better, if he had known any better…

He could have sworn that the voice he heard was—

"Itachi…" Sasuke hissed under his breath, venom underlying each syllable of his older brother's name. Onyx orbs greeted a similar pair when Sasuke's had completely turned around. He acknowledged his brother's ambition to ruin his life—he was positive that Itachi had planned to walk with Sakura directly towards him and Ino.

Apparently it worked. Too well.

Sasuke's scowl deepened further when he noticed Itachi's expression. Itachi's eyes had fixated upon his for the shortest moment, amusement and accomplishment dancing throughout the pools of his darkened eyes; and, a large deceitful smirk played on his thin lips. Itachi's hand rose slowly into the air and he sent Sasuke a small wave of recognition.

"You fucking _dick_." Sasuke growled under his breath, the words going unnoticed by his companion. He shook his head though; he could care less whether or not Ino had heard him—she wouldn't even understand what he was referring to. And, just as soon as Itachi had given Sasuke his attention, the older Uchiha spun on his heel and broke into a fast jog in the opposite direction.

Sasuke had no doubt that Itachi was trying to play a game. If Sasuke didn't follow Itachi, then he wouldn't be able to talk sense into Sakura, and then she would start falling for Itachi; if Sasuke did follow, then surely Itachi was setting up a trap in which Sasuke would walk into.

He couldn't decipher which option was worth more.

And, that's when Sasuke's slanted onyx orbs had caught it—the bobbing pink blob that was disappearing quickly into the crowd. He knew Sakura was there, of course; but, seeing her… Well, that was when he was able to make his decision. Was it worth more to potentially fall into Itachi's probable trap? The moment he saw her, it was; the moment he knew she was at stake, he was willing to take a risk.

A scowl presented itself upon his pale face and he glowered. He took a moment for himself to close his eyes and sigh, exasperated. "Sakura…" He grumbled to himself, wondering how he was going to find her. He still had to deal with Ino before he would be able to start his search for Sakura; and, by that time, she would already be too far gone. How was he supposed to find her? Guess?

Sasuke slightly twitched when he felt two slim arms wrap around his neck and weight fall upon his torso. He cringed when her hands contracted against him, tightly closing his esophagus and leaning him, involuntarily, backwards into her body. "Sasuke-kun, what's wrong?"

"Hn." He grunted in response.

He didn't have time to think of an appropriate response to keep her entertained—hell, he was too wrapped up in Itachi's game to think about anything else! He just wanted to decipher what Itachi's subliminal message could possibly be. The problem with his older brother was that he could never tell what his goal was: did he actually _want_ to be with Sakura or did he want to antagonize Sasuke?

Sasuke growled to himself in frustration. He didn't think he would ever understand his brother's motives.

"Sasuke-kun, what's wrong?"

He ignored her, giving her a casual grunt in reply.

"Sasuke-kun, what's wrong?"

He was too focused, still staring at the spot where he had last seen the pink blob to actually bother listening to Ino's question. His brows furrowed in deep contemplation. Should he go after Sakura? His mind yelled at him to do it—Sakura was the only person he has ever been attached to [other than Naruto]; however, his body refused to move. He didn't comprehend why he couldn't make a choice.

"Nehh! Sasuke-kun, what's wrong?" Ino reiterated. He brought his gaze upon her, aggravated that she had reiterated her question for fourth time. If he didn't answer the question the first time, _even_ the second time, he didn't understand why she persisted on asking it again.

He gritted his teeth in annoyance, clamping his lips tightly shut. He couldn't bring himself to snap at her; else he would be ruining his chances of having a future—his familial chosen future, at least.

Suddenly, the Uchiha thought of a passable idea. His hands came to his abdominals and he clenched his stomach, feigning pain. "Asdfghjkl," Sasuke groaned; his entire body seemed to twitch in agony.

A worried expression plastered itself upon Ino's face and she pressed her hands onto Sasuke's forehead; worry beguiling her. Her sapphire eyes stared at him for a moment trying to decide whether or not she should be worried. Upon examining his actions and expression, however, hysterics began to overtake Ino as she began to worry about her future husband's-to-be fate. "Sasuke-kun!" Ino screamed in absolute horror

She tried to embrace him in a tight hug, stroking his hair as empathetically as possible. He haphazardly swayed, avoiding her touch. Backing away from her embrace, Sasuke looked at her with the most pathetic look an Uchiha could provide. "I… I don't feel too good, Ino…-_chan_," Sasuke moaned.

He dodged her upcoming contact and began taking a few steps back. "I'll be right back, alright?" Sasuke disclaimed, rather straight-forwardly. There was no way she would turn him down. He knew it. He continued rubbing his stomach, pretending that he was nauseas. "I shouldn't be long, it's just…my stomach." He made a retching noise. "Ino-chan…" He was going to punch himself in the face for having to use such pathetic tactics.

A giant blush appeared on the girl's face while she continued to stare, worriedly, at Sasuke. Apparently she didn't understand the situation that Sasuke was trying to feign. Suddenly, her worried expression turned completely blank. "I know what will make you feel better!" She hummed, a toothy grin playing on her lips. She looked at him and gave him a sultry wink as she popped her hip out as far as possible.

Sasuke didn't know if any normal man would take this opportunity to be turned on. He grimaced at the fact that she was so willing to try anything; but, without any regard, he responded with a: "…Nahhh."

With his response, her temper was ignited. "I don't know what's wrong with you, Sasuke-kun; but, I am your _lover_. You don't need to be all forever alone when you're with me. So if you want to go to the bathroom and do whatever you need to do _all alone_ then fine." She huffed, her chest heaving up and down heavily. She was livid and he didn't know whether or not he should be worried about her.

Sasuke hadn't had time to determine what time or personality Ino had when it came to anger—he hadn't exactly gone out of his way to _make_ her angry. Initially he was going to assume that she was aggressive when it came to her anger; but, seeing the glint in her sapphire eyes told him otherwise. He _despised_ passive-aggressive tendencies. They were sneaky and manipulative; but, he still couldn't pin Ino for being very…manipulative.

"Seriously, _go_, Sasuke-kun." Ino spat. "Leave me—a helpless, attractive female—all alone—" Her frown deepened and her arms crossed her chest. "—in the dark."

Through her hysterics, Sasuke had caught a few couples that were passing by giving strange, or dirty, looks at the young Uchiha. He scowled in aggravation—people always targeted him when a woman was upset near him. He looked at Ino, knowing he had to do something to appease her before he left. "That was the plan, Ino." Sasuke drawled, a small shrug expressing his indifference.

Ino's mouth fell agape and a shriek then followed. "Wh… What?!"

A sigh escaped the Uchiha's lips as he stalked slowly up to Ino. "Hn," he groaned, slouching down and making eye contact with the blonde. He let a smirk play on his lips as he bent down, his fingers trailing up and down her sides. "Don't worry, Ino-_chan_, I don't want to get too ahead of myself," Sasuke drawled, "though I am _dying_ to kiss those beautiful lips."

Ino's eyes glimmered brightly, excitement tingling in each sparkle. "Oh, Sasuke-kun!" She merrily exclaimed. "I never pinned you for being so forward—I like it" The blonde then began leaning into Sasuke's grasp, trying to instigate a kiss between the two.

Sasuke breathed, seductively, "I care too much about you to get you sick." His breath fanned, his lips briskly brushing against her cheek.

He was almost amused at how flustered and red-cheeked Ino had gotten by such simple seduction tactics. A small smile gleamed, slowly broadening from cheek-to-cheek. "S-S-Sasuke-kun!" She gasped, "You're too _sweet_! I'll wait right here for you." She announced, her hands clapping eagerly together. "I knew I could find some husband material in you."

He smirked. "I guess you were right."

"Shoo—shoo!" Ino demanded, motioning for him to leave. "I don't want to be waiting too long, Sasuke-kun."

It almost sounded like a warning; but, he didn't really care.

He smirked.

_At all_.

Her eyes began to well and she knew the tears were about to fall. She cursed at herself for being so emotional. She cupped her hands against her mouth, trying to hold back any gasps of air that were trying to be sucked in. "I just don't understand…" Sakura muffled through her prying fingers. Her head tilted down, pink bangs bobbing down to cover her face; and, that was when her tears began to fall gracelessly from the corners of her innocent, emerald eyes.

She knew it looked pathetic—the way she was crouched underneath a small, wooden picnic table that was near the lake. She resembled her seven year old self; naïve, emotional, and pained. An abrupt drag of air flew into her lungs when she thought she noticed something move in the shadows. "I'm just being stupid," she commented dryly to herself. Regardless, that didn't stop her from being emotionally shell-shocked _and _scared.

Her knees were scrunched into her body, pulled against her chest, and her head rested atop of them. She had tried to keep her sobs muffled; but, it had proven to be little success.

"W-Why..?" Sakura whispered, trying too desperately to hold her breath. What did Sasuke find in that other girl? What did that blonde have that she didn't have? She has known Sasuke for years; yet, she had been proven the fool—she had honestly thought that the Uchiha had cared for her. "I'm such a fool." She grimaced as her hands clasped into small fists.

She had been there for him throughout his life—helped him through sorrows; encouraged him to seek his utmost potential; and, aside from Naruto, she was the closest person to him!

_What the hell did that girl have that she didn't? _

And with that question, her mind betrayed her confidence.

She had long blonde hair; Sakura had _pink _hair, and it definitely wasn't too long. She had blue eyes to compliment her blonde hair; Sakura had green eyes to emphasize her _pink_ hair. Her legs were super, _super_ long, she was tall and skinny; Sakura was…well, she was _petite_, to be kind about it. She had giant tits, too; Sakura had what Sai coined as, "mosquito bites" for tits—she glowered at the thought of that.

And for the finale:

Did she also have…Sasuke?

Her slender fingers curved inwards and her hands clenched with jealousy and sadness and anger. She didn't even know what she was supposed to feel! Her mind kept wondering about all of the possible reasons to why Sasuke had chosen his blonde haired beauty over her. She had memories with him, _beautiful_ memories—or, at least she thought they were; who was this…this woman that could replace all of those? Maybe he had known her just as long as he had known Sakura. Who knows.

She furrowed her brow in disbelief as her nose scrunched with anticipation and aggravation. The list could keep going, on and on and on—

"Sakura?" A voice called out.

—and _on_.

Sakura tilted her head upwards in fear and curiosity while her eyes blinked several times trying to adjust to the darkness of the area. She wanted to pinpoint the voice to see who it was that was calling her; however, little success was gained. She couldn't determine who it was that was calling her name—and, that worried her. For all she knew, it could be Sasuke. It could be Sasuke or Itachi or some random stranger that knew her name. She assumed it was one of the first, too.

She didn't want to see anyone, so instead of replying back, or heading towards the voice, Sakura backed up underneath the picnic table even further. With her lackluster luck, she ended up bumping into one of the table's legs, knocking off a glass object that was atop the table. "Fuck," Sakura mumbled under her breath, spoken softly enough to where it was completely inaudible to whoever was there.

The shrieking sound of shattering glass radiated amongst her, licking both her pale, soft skin and the growing stale air. Sakura flinched when several small shards glimmered near or on her. Not only was the object glass, but it was also filled with liquid. _Gods_, _I hope that's just water_, Sakura grimly thought.

Her night was indubitably going to be a slippery slope: she had seen Sasuke when another woman; she was sitting underneath a foul, grimy picnic table in the cold; she probably looked like absolutely shit and someone was coming; and, _now_, she was drenched in what she could smell wasn't water. _And_, she was bleeding.

Sakura narrowed her eyes and her tears began pouring out again. "I hate _everything_." She grumbled, clutching her knees. Her day was just getting shittier and shittier, and she didn't even know if she could handle it anymore.

"I don't like repeating myself," the voice drawled.

At hearing this, Sakura awkwardly shuffled her feet even closer to her body. It was already pathetic enough that her mind was in hysterics and she was bawling her eyes out over Sasuke—a boy who wasn't even going out with her; but, in addition to this, she had also run away from Itachi because of his brother.

She wryly admitted to Itachi being right. She initially went out with him because he looked like Sasuke so much—such a reason made her feel selfish and conniving. Their features were that of almost identical (other than the indented lines along the sidings of Itachi's nose); their voices had the same monotonous pitch; their hair was similar with that mystifying raven color; and, their eyes…..their eyes were those deep, cryptic pools that never spoke emotions.

And now she was realizing that he was so much better for her than Sasuke.

But, he still _wasn't_ Sasuke.

Sakura's ears perked up and listened intently when she heard a sigh. Biting her lip, she swallowed the large know in her dry throat and held her breath. Her emerald orbs gazed objectively at the dark figure's legs which were standing in front of the table she was under.

It was a hushed voice that loomed within the air. "Are you OK?"

She shivered and held her tongue. She feared that if she were to open her mouth, she would accidentally muster out some rambling of incoherent thoughts. "W-Who… Itachi?" She breathed, guessing—her hopes high that she was correct. There was no way she would be able to deal with seeing Sasuke at the moment.

A pregnant pause followed her question.

He then chuckled, ruefully, "You can't tell me apart from my younger brother?" She didn't know if she misheard when she acknowledged annoyance in his tone. She could only assume she did. She heard, no, _felt_ the man sigh as his figure bent down to crouch in front of her. He muttered a few indistinct words before she caught the lingering inflection of: "That's pretty bad."

Her eyes slightly widened when she realized that he was fitting his way underneath the table with surprising ease. She knew that no matter how easy the Uchiha would make it seem to get underneath the table, it would be much harder for him than it was for her. Itachi was at _least_ a full foot taller than her.

"I'm sorry," Sakura whispered. "P-Please," she paused for a moment, suppressing a hiccup, "you don't have to come under here, that's too much—"

"Hn," Itachi grunted, ignoring her selfless comment. His eyes rose up to meet hers and he stared at her, confusion and suspicion filtering within those deep onyx orbs. "You do not want me here?"

A long sniff came for an answer. Her fingers fumbled with one another as she met his stare with a dignified look. "You know what I meant," Sakura said with an annoyed tone. She hurriedly wiped her left cheek with the palm of her smooth hand, brushing away the tear stains. Itachi carefully watched her try to hide the small tear streams, an almost sympathetic look fighting its way onto his face.

"You were crying." Itachi deadpanned, his forefinger and middle finger reaching out to trace her jaw line. "Why?"

Sakura frowned, replying with the childish remark, "N-Nu-uh."

He heard her huff, then hiccup. Itachi decided to wait for a few moments before many any other comments, and instead chose to sit beside her. A smirk fought its way to his lips, and he was thanking the Gods that it was near pitch black outside. He felt her head continually move, shifting for comfort, before she finally settled on leaning it against his shoulder. "My brother," he began as his hand rose and trickled fingers through her cherry blossom locks, "is a very foolish man."

"Why her?" Sakura sighed, exasperated.

Itachi shrugged. "Why anyone—Why _you_?" His fingers kept up their meticulous strokes and he continued, "He seeks solace in whatever he can find—it's a dependency on comfort. You cannot control the feelings you harbor for another, albeit however much you would like to; nor can you control how the other feels about you. It's a shameful fact, really…"

Sakura blinked with indecisiveness. She knew he was right—she just didn't want to believe it.

His strokes ceased and his hand now rested upon her other shoulder, holding her in a comforting passion. "I don't know why Sasuke is with that woman, Sakura," Itachi stated, feigning pity, "but I'm sure he must have had a good enough reason if he would risk letting someone as valuable as you go."

Sakura buried her head deeper into his shoulder and she took a deep breath. Itachi raised a brow, considering how to go about calming her down. His right hand slowly raised her face and he tucked the single strand of pastel pink hair behind her ear. The Uchiha spoke no words; fully understand that none were needed for this moment.

With that action, he was positive, that she would fall perfectly into his hands.

He caught the gleam of the smallest of smiles appear upon her ruby lips. She lifted her head and her eyes met his. Her lips opened, breath hot and heavy, and she barely had the courage to speak.

But she did.

"Thank you."

* * *

Uchiha Sasuke was never a fool, until he found solace within Itachi's once warm embrace. Uchiha Sasuke was never a spontaneous, foolish man, until he found succor within Sakura's forever warm embrace.

Today, however, Uchiha Sasuke was the biggest of fools; and, it was all because of that demented, sadistic demon who called him "brother" and that naïve succubus of a woman who called him "Sasuke-_kun_." Earlier this month, he had constructed a path of what he wished to follow: mundane friendships, academic prevalence, and personal contentment. These three things included the following: Naruto, school, and, most importantly, Sakura.

And, it seemed he had lost the most important one.

Sasuke stared apprehensively, blankly, at the darkness that had enveloped Itachi's frame. He knew that his brother had followed Sakura, and through following Itachi, he was now at a forest opening. The opening was rather eloquent, its serenity radiated within the darkness. He didn't know whether or not he wanted to appreciate this darkness.

With hesitant footing, he finally gathered the strength to put his first foot forward. If Sakura was here, he needed to save her from Itachi—that was all he needed to do. If anything, he was willing to lose her if he put forward effort to fight for her; however, even if he lost, he adamantly refused to lose her to his brother.

A scowl appeared upon his pale face and he broke into a sprint to start his search. During his run, Sasuke's mind was racing: _What does Itachi want with Sakura? What if he does something to her…—? That fucking bastard!_ He bit the insides of his cheeks to let out some of his growing frustration.

With a troubled sigh escaping through his lips, he pushed all of the potential occurrences between Itachi and Sakura out of his head. He would not allow that bastard of a brother to touch her—_anyone_ but him. _Even Naruto_. Sasuke snorted at the thought of the dense blond being able to even captivate Sakura.

The forest's entrance broke apart, leading to an open flat area that appeared to have been meant for picnics. There was a large lake in the center of the forest with a few picnic tables scattered about. He raised a brow, surprised by having never known about this place before. Sakura had to be here—this is exactly the type of place that she reveled in. Secluded, yet open, hidden nature was Sakura's sanctuary from harsh reality.

His right foot led his first step into the moon's illumination upon the grass and into the bleeding midnight of the sky.

"Sakura..?"

* * *

"Sakura?"

It was a whisper in the wind, worried words from an enraptured soul. She heard her name—at least she _thought _she heard her name. She made all efforts to ignore it. Her mind was probably just playing tricks on her, shouting at her for slowly falling into Itachi's hold. The problem was that her mind kept drifting towards Sasuke, or, more so, the Sasuke that she thought she knew.

"Sakura?"

Hearing the name fall from ethereal lips again, Sakura began to flush, her stomach nauseas from panic. She buried her head deeper into Itachi's warm, firm chest and tightened her eyes. Chewing her bottom lip, Sakura tightened her hold on the older Uchiha, clenching her fingers into his shirt. This was real—_Itachi_ was real. She was here, he was here, and no one else.

"Sakura?"

The third time she heard it, the voice was significantly louder—calling with a drafted tone of worry and self-loathing. The voice may have grown louder, but so had her resolve. Her entire body stiffened and she tilted her head up to the older Uchiha—to Itachi.

Her ministrations on her bottom lip ceased and she tightened her lips for a quick moment, thoughts racing too quickly for words to speak.

She eyed him, with a weak mind and a wary heart, and tried to read him. She needed to trust this man before she could consider letting herself fall into his grasp and leaving Sasuke. She needed to know that he wasn't another Sasuke—another person she would never understand.

A small frown had tugged at the corner of Itachi's lips the moment he had heard his little brother's voice. The coarse callings of Sakura's name had etched their way down the crisp breeze in their direction—there was no way that Sakura didn't hear it.

He had been reading her actions and expressions the entire time, though; and, judging by all of them, he knew she was denying the voice entirely—_trying_ to, at least.

He was frowning, however, because he didn't actually expect Sasuke to be this attached to the girl before him. What about the girl before him was so omnipotent that she could have an Uchiha on their knees, begging for her love?

The curiosity to find out burnt with a fire, a passion, he never had experience.

And, luckily for him, that was when Sakura looked directly into his eyes.

Berly green eyes watched determinedly. She examined and analyzed every emotion and thought that was evident through his eyes—every feeling of curiosity and passion and amusement and attraction that he displayed; while overlooking the calculation and manipulation that also joined.

After a moment, she felt her eyes flutter shut when she felt his fingers trickling slowly up the sides of her body. She may not understand the Uchiha before her, but eyes are the realm to true emotions; and, his emotions were raw.

"Sakura?"

Her mind drifted to Sasuke, but before it could even delve further, she pushed the entire concept away. She pursed her lips together, it couldn't be him.

It sounded like a question, but when she opened her eyes, she saw Itachi's lips move, gently drawing out another "Sakura." She deeply exhaled a breath she didn't even know she was holding; thankful or disappointed—she didn't really know or care anymore—that it was Itachi.

"Sakura," Itachi repeated, words dripping like a rich chocolate from his thin lips. She was lost in the man before her, confused but desiring everything of the unknown. Her lips parted slightly, realizing the trickling fingers were now delicately dripping on shoulders, hovering towards the nape of her neck. She reveled in the feeling of his strong hands and his intriguing stare.

Itachi was watching the girl before him—marveling, _musing_; she, some beguiling, alluring nymphet captivating not only his brother's sanity, but his very own unquenchable curiosity. The girl was too innocent for her own livelihood, enrapturing the exquisite titans with her overbearing lullabies. However, with such a quality, she walks hand in hand with her fate, becoming some bittersweet jester in the heart's reprimanding castle.

A smirk drew out eloquently on his thin lips as he thought, '_such a naïve girl for being so easy to play.'_

"Sakura," Itachi said, drugging and numbing her entire body with his sensual tone. The fingers of his right hand began to slowly trickle up, dancing and tickling her neck. He watched her stare at him with anticipation and fear that he had not seen in many people, especially young girls. His hand dragged further up until his palm could finally cup her small chin and flushed cheek.

She was wary; she was wary because no matter how much Itachi was trying to help her forget about Sasuke, he still had the appearance for her to remember. She shook the thought from her head. '_Itachi is not Sasuke_,' she reminded herself, clearly.

She let herself ignore the growing anxiety as Itachi's head began a slow dip down towards her—the way his body seemed to slouch nearer and nearer. She almost wanted to ask herself why she was ignoring it; but she already knew.

She couldn't let her life revolve around some person, some _Sasuke_—she was just a kid, and surely it wasn't love anyways.

She thought.

Surely.

His hand tilted her head more in his immediate direction, providing easier access; by the way she hadn't avoided any of these actions, he could tell she was leaning towards him. Itachi marveled in amusement at how easily the girl had fallen into his clutches—it was beautiful.

_She_ was beautiful.

And, then she had surprised him, she pushed her weight upon her tip-toes and she began leaning into the approaching Uchiha. Her hands automatically reached for his shirt collar and she harshly tugged him down into her, crashing his lips against hers—both craving to quench an insatiable hunger.

* * *

The crackling of dying leaves upon the dry grass was the only noise that the young Uchiha could hear. Looking down, cursing inwardly to himself, he scuffed his shoes against the dirt trying to think of something—_anything_. The last thing he wanted to envision was Itachi entrapping Sakura forever in his hold.

She didn't know him.

She didn't know the _real_ Itachi.

The real one who would destroy her in a heartbeat the moment he wrecked Sasuke; the real one who loved the game of manipulation and destruction. Sasuke clenched his fists; there was no doubt that this was one of Itachi's games. He had to save her before she was in too deep.

"Sakura?" He pleaded the air, his worry overbearing his casual, skeptical tone.

And, with each call there was never a reply; maybe he had lost them in the forest, Itachi taking a foreign turn away from the clearing. Sasuke took a pause in his step, and he thought. He had to keep going straight on this path, because Itachi would want this to be in the open. It was the most obvious choice when dealing with his older brother—Itachi would want Sasuke to see him do whatever he so pleased with Sakura.

He would _revel_ in it.

That's when he saw it, approximately a hundred yards in front of him was the ending of the path. Glimmering under the moon's illumination, slightly resembling that of the Tyndall Effect, was a pristine lake. In fact, it was an extremely large clearing with several scattered trees, a lake, and a shadowed silhouette. **  
**

Sasuke, hesitant and nausea filled, walked a few strides closer to the entrance.

His brow deepened in frustration; with each step he took, the shadow was becoming more and more ever apparent—and with that, the pestering shadow of his mind began to plague him more and more.

The silhouette was that of a human, or should he say _humans_; and, to worry him more, the shadow was moving—quite vigorously, might he add.

He felt his stomach drop.

* * *

Itachi had managed to lure their bodies towards the closest tree and prop her firmly against it. He shoved her hands from his neck in an abrupt swipe and pushed them to her sides. Involuntarily, she gasped from the sudden change of passion. His lips broke free from hers and eagerly attached themselves hungrily to her neck; meanwhile, his hands began to desperately explore her lithe body. A stifled moan escaped from her swelling lips when she felt his tongue flicker on just the right spot. His ministrations paused for a moment and, in turn, her eyes blinked back to reality; and, just as she was about to question all of…_this, she felt him steal in a slow, deep breath—almost as though he was trying to steal away her scent as a keepsake for forgotten nostalgia._

Her eyes softened as her mind began to flood with those dreaded conspiracy theories of love. What if this could be real? What if Itachi _was_ truly interested in her, would it not make sense for her to make the most of it? Sasuke didn't want to be with her; she knew the best option she had left was for her to move on.

But, her conspiracy theories were hypothetical illogicalities, that and only that.

And, she wasn't ready. Not yet, at least.

She was broke from her transience when she saw his eyes, endless shades of a dull, dull gray—she felt her heart drop at seeing those black diamonds. She felt his fingers massaging the nerves of her hips, dripping lower and lower towards the bottom her dress. Tripping on her words, her tongue crocheting a tight, silken foreign language—something so cryptic and indecipherable—she whispered, "don't be your brother."

Something akin to a genuine smile appeared on Itachi's face, but Sakura never understood his smiles—they leaked sophistication and elegance, and something hinting at an unknown gilded emotion. And, just as quickly as that smile had appeared, his lips began to gluttonously devour her words—lips planted firmly upon her own. His knee jutted further up in between her legs, and she felt him lift her up, using the tree as leverage. She tried to stifle the tired moan that had seemed to lodge in her throat since the beginning of this mess.

Without a second thought, her legs had wrapped around his lean figure, prompting her dress to rise significantly. She was caught up, too lost in the moment to care when she felt his fingers begin to roughly maneuver her panties, sliding them to the side for a better access.

She grabbed at him in ecstasy, as his fingers began to dance nimbly on her thighs whilst the others created pianissimos inside. The beckoning gestures the man made inside of her sent her to an unquenchable need, an insatiable desire for _more_—something that she would never be able to go back on. She tightened her legs against his torso, forcing his body flush against her; her fingers melding in desperate grasps inside the tangled webs of his long hair.

But, something clicked—all of a sudden, when she felt…_him _pressing against the side of her inner thigh, she felt scared. Realization had set in of the seriousness of the situation, what if she regretted this?

She had to escape; something in her mind was tearing at her sanity, at her dignity.

Her hands swatted his fingers away from her lower body, and with her face tilted down, she looked into those dull, dull eyes. Itachi mused at his grandeur piece of art; a nymphet with a broken longing and a brilliant desperation for love—swollen lips, bruised neck and collar bone, shaking legs—and, better yet, he was her only sought out solace. Her beryl pools explained everything, flickering back to the memories of every single motion happening way too quickly. She questioned her sanity for being so immature, for being so _dumb_.

"Sakura..?"

Something _had_ definitely clicked.

Her eyes blinked, wide-eyed and confused. She hadn't even noticed that Itachi's head had already turned to the left; and, when she followed his gaze, her heart and body had hazardously dropped from their acme of cloud nine as her feet were firmly planted upon the forsaken ground.

And, it was too harsh of a reality, when she realized that something was Sasuke.

Her mouth fell slightly ajar, and she couldn't free herself from her self-induced paralysis. The only thing she could bring herself to do was look at the ground and dig her toes into the dirt, desperately—_shamefully_.

Yup. She felt dumb.

* * *

**End of Chapter 5**

* * *

**Author's Note**: Reviews are appreciated! I like to hear your opinions, constructive criticisms, conversations, and input!

EWHH its Kenna


	6. Take 6: Brothers on a Hotel Bed!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto

**Author's Note**: Y U SO DRAMATIC SASUSAKU

* * *

**Sterotyping Uchiha's**

The Ego Death

* * *

It was almost as though she had blacked-out in those next few moments, because everything had happened just so fucking fast. It was in one moment where Sasuke had begun screaming; to another where she had been pushed away by Itachi and had fallen to the ground; to another moment where Sasuke had finally tackled Itachi and was mercilessly attacking him.

...

...

...

Ino placed her hands on her hips and anxiously stared at the slowly dying-off festival crowd. "Where's Sasuke-kun..?" She asked herself as she reluctantly began to walk in the direction of her house.

_I wonder why he is so…distant from me. _He hadn't voiced any opposition to the arrangement, so clearly he was entertained by the thought of marrying her. She just didn't understand why his personality and actions were so vividly different from what she had originally anticipated. He always appeared disinterested in her attempts at conversation; and he always seemed reluctant on every outing they had gone on. Today…

Today he disappeared on her.

Her hands dropped, as well as her head. Tiredly, she let out a rough sigh, "I wonder how sick he actually is…—!" But, her thoughts abruptly stopped when she felt a strong hand grab her left shoulder.

Letting out an anxious scream, Ino automatically turned around and swung at her potential attacker. "Ahhhh—!"

It was a tall, young man with dark brown hair and a small smile; however, she figured that any man with his hair spiked upwards in a pony tail _that _high simply screamed that his probability of being a potential attacker was pretty damn high. She watched as his once-smiling face abruptly turned sour at the realization of what was about to happen.

"What the—?" His mouth opened, but he didn't' have time to say anything before her punch landed. He let go of her completely and shuffled a few steps back. "How troublesome…" She heard him mutter as he rubbed his cheek, wincingly. "Geez…how much do you lift woman?"

"What?!" She huffed, "You try to _attack _me and you say I'm the troublesome one?!"

He gave her a dumb look, hand still pressed lightly against his cheek. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"You grabbed me!" Ino exclaimed.

He waved his hand back and forth, shaking his head. "No—no, I mistook you for someone else…regretfully," he sighed. At this point he was not even looking at her; it seemed he was still trying to find the other girl. "Who the hells first reaction is to turn around and punch somebody in the face, anyway? I barely touched you," he grumbled, a slight pout turned on his lips. He eyed the woman before him; she was very attractive, albeit irritating.

Ino gave him a disgruntled look, her face scrunching in annoyance. She mumbled under her breath, "You sure whine a lot for a man."

"You _punched _me," he retorted, dryly—correction, _very_ dryly.

"Listen, I don't know what your problem is," Ino began, "but I'm a beautiful young lady preparing herself for the long journey home…—may I mention to you I'm ALONE?! So, I have many reasons to worry!" Ino huffed, her fist waving in the air. He noticed she looked extremely upset about this factor, because her eyes were starting to shine. _Fuck_, he thought. He had heard her sniffle. _I can't deal with crying girls…_

She continued, "I got stood up half-way through a festival—like three hours into the night! Ahh!" She cried, "Am I that bad of a date?!" From his eventful first impression of her, he didn't know whether or not the question was rhetorical. Her tone kept oscillating in waves of wrath and sorrow. She opened her mouth to continue her dreadful story of woe, but the brown-haired man held his hand up to stop her.

He refused to deal with a crying woman; so he did the only thing he could do.

"I'll walk you home."

Her mouth hung open a bit, taking a moment to comprehend what he had just suggested. "You'll…what?"

"How troublesome," he mumbled to had absolutely no idea how he was suppose to keep this women constantly calm, lest she start assaulting him or crying again—the two things he absolutely abhorred, _particularly_ the latter.

He cleared his throat and tried to give her a better explanation, "Look—apparently I was stood up today, too. You looked similar to the woman I was supposed to be going out with tonight—" he paused for a moment and reluctantly muttered, "—…you actually look better than her, too…though your personality is a bit," he stopped when he saw a fire rekindling in eyes at his potential wording.

He narrowed his eyes and hoped to choose wisely, "…_eclectic_."

She gave him a suspicious look.

"So, let me walk you home—it's the least I can do for…'_scaring_' you." He said and smiled at her—a tone with an enticing mystery, and a smile that was a mixture of pleasure and intellectualism.

Ino returned the smile and her eyes squinted shut. "Okay," she said, gratefully. Her eyes opened abruptly, warningly. She tightened her lips and wagged her finger at him. "No funny business though," she chided as she popped her hip to the side, all the while letting out a small laugh to herself.

"Nara Shikamaru," he announced, his hand reaching out to settle for a handshake.

She grabs his hand and squeezed, "Yamanaka Ino." And, after that she grinned a little bit, dragging him in the direction towards her house.

He smirked. _Picking up chicks is too easy_.

"It's quite a few blocks away; you're probably going to have to carry me at some point," she said pouting; she also exaggerated the point by pointing at her high heels.

He sighed.

_Goddammit_.

* * *

"What the fuck is this?"

It was Sasuke.

Sasuke.

Sasuke.

_Sasuke-kun_.

She couldn't respond, her mind couldn't even formulate a single thought.

He repeated himself.

She couldn't breathe.

Sasuke never repeated himself.

"What the _fuck_ is this?!"

"Who knew you were so dumb," Itachi mused, chuckling aloud—a mocking gesture his pride refused to stifle. "It's _exactly_ what it looks like, little brother." Itachi's dull gray eyes returned to Sakura for a moment, admiring the despair in her eyes, before quickly averting back to a lunging Sasuke.

Eyes widening in realization, Itachi quickly grabbed Sakura's forearm and pushed her out of the way of the younger Uchiha.

Sakura, too enraptured by the ruins of the situation, was caught off guard by Itachi's attempt to help her. She gasped, "h-huh?" She stumbled backwards into the inglorious tree, tripping over one of its roots; in turn, she fell gracelessly to the ground, her head knocking roughly against its stump.

With the wind knocked out of her, Sakura held her head in her hands, trying to ease the pain. What was happening? She couldn't, no…—she _refused_ to believe this was real. Yesterday her life was a perfectly normal routine, a _merry_normal routine. She loved routines; it was the only way she could function properly in her life. There was no change; there was no worries; there was her family and friends and going to school and simply having fun. _How could yesterday be so vastly different from this one_?

This wasn't fair.

_This isn't fair. _

She could never forgive herself.

So, she did the only thing she could do.

She cried.

"S-Sasuke…kun?"

...

...

...

"How—" Sasuke yelled, jabbing Itachi in the stomach, "—could—" another punch was sent to Itachi's ribs, "—you?!" Sasuke's right fist was coming down at Itachi's face, before the older Uchiha finally decided to stop him. There was a moment where neither of the brothers said anything; instead, they just stared at each other.

Sasuke's brow was deeply furrowed and Itachi could tell that his brother was grinding his teeth. Itachi knew it; Uchiha's were very territorial people—when they have certain feelings about people or things, their feelings towards these people or things are extremes. When they hate something, their life is focused solely on destroying its existence; when they love something, they absolutely refuse to let it go.

Itachi grabbed Sasuke's wrist and, with a furious gleam in his eyes, he asked, "Are you done yet?" His legs wrapped around his brother's, and he switched their positions—Itachi now on top, readying to punish his idiot for a brother.

Sasuke looked up at his brother with a certain feeling of loss presenting itself in his eyes. He couldn't believe what had happened—he couldn't believe Itachi.

_No_.

He couldn't believe Sakura.

Sasuke growled in aggravation, trying to kick his older brother off him.

She was _his _to claim, not Itachi's.

Sakura moaned in pain, wincing when she tried to move her foot. She didn't know what to do, but all she knew was that she needed to stop them. They were at each other's throats and it was her fault. "Sasuke…-kun?" Sakura murmured as she slowly managed to make her way back up. Her ankle caved in abruptly, but she caught herself with one of the tree's branches.

Itachi held him down with one hand by the throat, leaving Sasuke no choice but to remain still. "You're the one that didn't bring her to the festival," Itachi shrugged off, a menacing smirk playing on his thin lips.

Sakura shouted, "Sasuke-kun!" She began fumbling her way over to the two Uchihas, worry and regret burdening her walk. This couldn't be happening. "Stop it…—_Itachi_!"

"So what's the problem if she comes with me?" Itachi asked in a dead-panned tone, meticulously torturing his brother. He then brings his two fingers to his mouth and slowly licks them. "And, if you didn't know—"

She sobbed, shaking uncontrollably, "please…—" She had finally managed her way to the brothers, and with little strength she grabbed at Itachi's bicep, trying to pull him off Sasuke and towards her. " _Please…_—get off of him, Itachi…"

It was a whispering plea; a melancholic tune sung in a hopeless cry. "Please get off of Sasuke-kun."

Itachi initially ignores her, refusing to even give her a casual glance. That's when Itachi uppercuts him once in the gut, his fingers scraping the dirt in a dire struggle for freedom after it had hit.

After Sasuke coughed, trying to steal in any air that his lungs could intake, he grabbed his stomach in absolute pain. Itachi finally bent down to Sasuke's ear, whispering articulately words only audible for the two of them. "—she tastes _phenomenal_."

There is dead silence between all three.

And, Sasuke doesn't react this time.

He doesn't react when Itachi finally stands up; he doesn't move when Itachi looks down at Sakura; and, he doesn't even stop watching when his older brother bent down, his right forefingers tilted Sakura's head up, whilst his other hand grabbed her ass and brought her flush against him, and kissed her lightly on the lips.

It all happened too fast for her to react.

So, she didn't respond, her eyes still looking down trying to find the shame she was earlier drowning in. Itachi broke away from the girl, looked back at Sasuke one last time, and then turned around. "Figure out what you want; I don't have time to play games," he said in regards to Sakura, his hand barely angling itself to bid a farewell.

Itachi just kissed her right in front of Sasuke.

_No…_

Sakura felt her body's force give in, and she softly plopped to the ground—legs thrown about and the rest of her composure just as disheveled. She breathed in, then out, then back in, and, then she couldn't even remember if it just stopped or continued. She couldn't bring herself to care.

_How could I possibly be this stupid_?

She didn't know what to say.

"Sasuke—"

He refused to look at her. "_Don't_," he spat in disgust, in abhorrence; he didn't even want to hear her voice—he _couldn't_, not now, not after everything he had just witnessed. He didn't even know where his anger was supposed to begin—at himself? At Itachi? At Sakura? All of it was a fool's game with no prize; he couldn't believe he was even partaking in such a childish act.

He wasn't one to fight over a woman, and he would be _damned_ if he let a woman make a fool out of him, especially out of the name of his clan. He would damn her if she dared to make a mockery out of him, if she tried to dare control him.

"You have no right," Sakura grumbled, her hand was rubbing the back of her head, applying pressure. She winced, roughly biting her lip to prevent herself from crying, when she felt something wet. "Don't—? You don't—!" Sakura cut herself off and took a moment to think her sentences through. Her temper was starting to get the best of her and she didn't want to say anything she would regret—she already regretted enough.

"You're seeing someone else," Sakura said, blinking back tears. The truth her enough as is, she hated having to reiterate the obvious facts. "So why can't I do the same?"

"Shut up, Sakura," Sasuke scowled. He was still lying on the ground, his head facing the endless story of diamonds above. Of course she would bring that up. She didn't even understand the situation, and he couldn't do anything to help alleviate it. He was stuck at an obdurate stalemate with no foreseeable future. It was aggravating, to say the least. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"He enjoys my company; he gives me the time of day—"

"My brother doesn't give a shit about you."

_How dare he?!_ And, that's when she snapped. _How dare he._

A long silence hovered in the air. Sasuke shut his mouth, not knowing where to take the discussion after that. If he didn't even know how he was feeling about the entire situation, how was he supposed to formulate the words to fix it? He had nothing reassuring to give Sakura, so what else was there? He had no clue of Itachi's true intentions with her, maybe he did care, but the likeliness of Itachi simply trying to hassle Sasuke was much higher. He really had no room to judge, or care about Sakura's and Itachi's relationship, yet he didn't really give a shit. He could do whatever he so chose, and this was his choice.

She was looking at him with hopeful eyes; a shining that blistered his thoughts, something akin to doubt and regret—something akin to _need_. And, he wanted to give her that. He wanted to tell her something that would keep her from crying. Because, gods did it look like she wanted to after he said that.

He wanted to; but he couldn't.

Sakura and he hadn't built the type of relationship that needed to be formed for him to define his feelings for her. They have always been _just_ friends—with a little bit of benefits, of course—but that was it.

That was it.

He didn't want to take chances of making their friendship dance on thin wires across sky-scrapers if it didn't work out. He had never been great at determining feelings, and he didn't care to improve his reckless guesses. They've worked thus far, so there hadn't been any need for change.

Then, there was Ino, a woman that he was conned into a relationship. Granted, in time, their relationship would eventually build; however, that was exactly what he didn't want to happen. He didn't necessarily have a type, but he knew when things would just a bit too…_trying_ for him to handle—Ino fit into this category.

"Neh, maybe none of you boys give a shit about me," Sakura wondered aloud with a mocking laugh, jeering at herself. "I should have just given Naruto the chance, instead of squashing his heart each time." Her tone was weighing heavier and heavier as a guilty conscious began to become more vibrant. "We probably could have been happy together, at least," she mumbled even more dryly. She stopped at that thought and looked up at the sky, completely mute.

Itachi was playing Sakura and here she was accusing him of the exact same thing. The worst part about it was that he couldn't defend himself—not when he was continually caught red-handed in his outings with Ino. He closed his eyes and breathed out.

He felt at a loss.

He growled in aggravation at his thoughts.

At his noise, Sakura broke free from her hypnotic trance of beguilement and stared brokenly at the boy before her. Her lips pursed together and she bit her tongue, trying to hold back her thrashing venomous words.

He did the only thing he could think of: he reiterated his thoughts, "Itachi doesn't care about you."

He ruined her night; he assaulted her date; and, then he had the audacity to be mad at _her_?!

"And what?" She sneered, "_you _do?"

She laughed. Sakura stretched her hands in the air and softly fell backwards until her landed lightly on the dewy grass. "You're funny, Sasuke-kun…" She breathes, trying to calm her nerves.

Her eye twitched in slight annoyance when it didn't work.

"You played me for all these years, and all out of nowhere—POP!" She exclaimed, making a clicking noise with her tongue, "—you get knocked on the head by Naruto too hard, and in your fucking _deliria_, you fall head over heels for some tall, blonde bimbo?" She snorted at him, radiating a more pompous, righteous attitude.

He eyed her, warily. He needed to be more cautious now, because any word he said she would take defensively. She always ended up doing this when she was backed into a corner and he would say something she didn't want to hear.

"I think I deserve to choose whoever I want to date!" With that Sakura promptly stood up; however, blinded by her anger, she had forgotten about her hurt ankle. Thankfully not falling, Sakura grimaced in pain and started to walk in the same direction Itachi had headed off in. She remarked, dryly, "be it they give a shit about me or not—"

"I never…—"

_I never played you._

"— that's the point of friends with benefits, neh, _Sasuke-kun_?"

He doesn't know what to say, how to explain all of this. He can't tell her that he is supposed to be marrying that tall, blonde bimbo—that would destroy her all the more. What was he supposed to do? He felt like a starving caged animal that was continually being teased with his food.

What did Itachi have to gain from this?

Sasuke slowly faced her back as she walked away from him. His fingers reached out to touch the liquid he had misconstrued all along for tears; and when he retracted his hand back and saw the red coloring, his stomach churned and he couldn't bring himself to move.

This wasn't how any of this was supposed to turn out.

Regret is the most burdening of emotions; it makes you realize that all the things you want were all the wrong rhymes to your reasons. It plagues the mind with a guilty paranoia for past mistakes, and thrives off the broken memories of unsung serenades. It stops your world, and all you can do is live in that stagnation.

_This is my fault_.

You live in that stagnation until you have the strength to fight for your once-known freedom; and, until then, you sit there, blankly, as you choke yourself with your own hand.

Regret is the most burdening of emotions.

_This is all my fault_.

And regret will make him sleep on that cold, wet grass tonight.

He can only hope that Sakura doesn't do the same.

* * *

**TO: **Sasuke  
**FROM:** Sakura  
**SUBJECT:** [No subject]

_Come to Ichiraku_.

The pad of her thumb hesitantly twitched as she tried to determine whether or not she was ready to hit the 'send' button. Would he respond? Was this all a waste of time on her part? She wouldn't think so, because there was so much to talk about, to _clarify_; but he was a man that needed time.

("_Sakura, tomorrow you are coming with me…to eat_.")

They weren't in a relationship prior to their argument, so neither of them had a right to yell at each other for who they were seeing. Her being with Itachi was no more important than him being with that blonde woman. She just needed him to understand that. She could get over him with another woman, because she wasn't with him; and he should do just the same. If they had ever been in a relationship, there was reason for there to be a dilemma; but that just wasn't the case.

They were friends; there should be no room for petty arguments such as this.

Her sending this text message would a big move on her part, almost like admittance for her wrongness—though, in her defense, it wasn't _all_ her fault. She shook her head, now was not the time to start pointing fingers at who was at liability for their actions. It was her mistake, as well as his. But what part of it did a mistake even occur, though?

She closed her eyes.

She just wanted to talk to him. She wanted to talk to her friend, her _Sasuke-kun_.

She just wanted everything to go back to normal; for her to be rose-cheeked and clumsily smiling as she watched him and Naruto bicker; for him to cast those casual glances at her—the ones she never understood, and the ones he never thought she noticed; for Naruto to growl angrily, enviously, yet jokingly, at their casual flirtatious gestures; for them to be _happy_.

Biting her lip, she mustered the remaining courage that she had managed to salvage and she pressed down on the button. She watched with anticipation as the phone blinked several times before finally showing the 'MESSAGE DELIVERED' action.

She felt her heart drop when the screen disappeared—was she ready to deal with the consequences?

She didn't know if she had the heart to take it if he didn't respond to her; and she didn't really have high hopes that he would, either. She sank into her chair and let out a despondent sigh.

Hopefully, luck was on her side today.

...

...

...

She grimly looked at her watch and let out a rough sigh. "They were supposed to be here by now—" Both of those boys were already 15 minutes late; in another 5 minutes, she supposed she should probably just order something as take-out and leave. It didn't help the ramen stand to have a non-paying costumer just taking up one of their already limited amount of seating.

"Hey," it was a subtle greeting, "ugly." _Not so subtle_, actually.

She rolled her eyes.

She took a moment to continue staring at her watch before she looked up to send regards to Sai. "Well, at least one of you made it, I guess," Sakura mumbled. She didn't mean to sound so petulant, but she couldn't really help it. She glanced down at the menu one last time and looked up at the eager waitress, Ayame. It seemed she had been waiting for quite some time now for someone to give her something, _anything_, to do—the place seemed rather empty for a regular evening.

"I'll just take a beef ramen."

The waitress nodded, merrily, and spun on her heel to go and place the order.

Sakura pushed the small paper menu to the side and gave a dejected smile to her friend. "And, how are you today, Sai?"

Sai took the open bar stool next to the pink-haired girl and picked up the menu she had disregarded. "I am doing well," he said, a light smile playing on his thin lips, "and you?" There was a moment of silence where they stared at each other blankly. "You seem a little more…er, _haggard_ than usual."

"Yeah, I—"

Sai smiled wider, eyes crinkling shut. "It hurts my eyes when you look this ugly."

"Shut the hell up." Her mouth twitched and she felt a vein beginning to harshly pump blood around her temple. "I'm _fine_, Sai," she snapped, her lips pursing tightly thin. She was in no mood for Sai's empty insults today, even though she knew better. Her patience had been worn thin of the recent.

He nodded in response and raised a finger. "I'll have what she is having," he ordered across the bar. "That _and_ two large hot sakes, please—two bowls."

"I'm surprised Naruto didn't show up for ramen," Sakura mused aloud as she picked up her chopsticks and unsheathed them from their packaging. She set the paper aside and placed her chopsticks onto one of the holders between the two of them. "Even when he's not hungry, that boy can eat at least 3 bowls of this stuff."

Sai simply shrugged and looked hesitantly over at the distressed-looking girl. "Haven't heard from him," he lied. He had specifically told Naruto not to come, actually. He asked to join Sakura alone so they could talk about a few things. His dull grey eyes left their original fixation on the bar to meet hers. "And where is the Uchiha?"

Sakura laughed, dryly, "which one?"

But he didn't think he was going to have the chance to talk about the things he wished to with her, the moment he saw how sad the pink-haired girl looked.

"The gay one."

"He's not…_gay_." Sakura grumbled defensively, her fingers fiddling with the chopstick's original paper wrapping. At what point in Sai's childhood did his parents not teach him the formalities of functioning in society? It was a question that had always plagued the back of her mind. He was such a strange kid, but it was also something she had eventually gotten used to—everyone just _had_ to get used to it. She was torn away from her thoughts when she heard the soft _clink _of Ayame setting down the bottle of sake and its two respective cups.

He rolled his eyes and made a snorting sound emphasizing his disbelief. "Whatever helps you sleep at night," Sai laughed. He grabbed the bottle with a thick cloth napkin and easily poured two cups of the sake. He placed one in front of the girl beside him and took one in hand. "Is he coming?"

Sakura shrugged, sadly, and looked at the ground. "I don't know." Her slated pride made her refuse to look at her phone to check if he responded; because she was too scared of the obvious answer. Her feet were roughly kicking back in forth in the air, a blatant sign of her discomfort on the topic. "I messed up," she mumbled, "_badly_." Her feet stopped and so did her racing mind; she took a deep breath and looked back up at Sai. "Well, I mean, I don't know—kind of… He has _no_ right to be mad."

He hated seeing Sakura like this. When her and Sasuke were on good terms, she lit up brighter than fireworks—smiling and laughing and _happy_; however, when they were in the midst of a fight, it was as though all hell broke loose and she had lost everything that she once held dear. For her to base her emotions solely on such a constantly shaky relationship was the main reason for why she needed to let go of it—of him.

There were other people out there that were so much better for her; but it was no place or time for the conversation he had initially intended with her, yet it was also the best.

He sadly knew there was never going to be a time for that conversation between him and her.

"Let's help each other out, hag," Sai said, a small smile forming on his thin lips.

People always wondered why he smiled when he had no reason to. His parents taught him long ago, that a smile can help better the mood of those around you; no matter how false it is. It shows your surroundings that you're trying and that you want to help others try, too. He learned to smile when he was happy, when he was sad, and when he was hurt; because there was nothing else he could do.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked, taking her glass in hand.

Sai laughed. "Hopefully a few glasses will help ease the strain on my eyes and will help you ease your burdening sorrows."

It took Sakura a moment to appreciate the genuine gesture Sai offered (there was always that fine line between the insults and his kindness). She looked at Sai and smiled warmly. "Thank you, Sai." This boy was always too kind to her; even more, she knew that this was only the beginning to their evening. She could only dread the thought of looking at her phone's potentially empty inbox, or having any conversation with Sasuke right now.

Thankfully, the day was still young.

She gulped. She already sent that message and she finally realized that she wasn't quite ready to see him. She set her empty glass down and looked at it, blankly. Letting out a rough sigh, she made the firm decision that she would fix what her and Sasuke started—or at least she would try to.

Sai let his warning ring in the air, breaking Sakura free from her trance. "My generosity will go thin if you let your glass go empty or cold."

They cheered their glasses together and flashed bittersweet smiles.

...

...

...

"I saw him with another woman," she confessed in agony, poking at her barely touched ramen with the chopsticks she had opened earlier in the evening. She moaned, drowning her grief within the new bowl Sai had recently poured for her. She looked at the bottles in front of them and decided that she would need to cut herself off soon. The last thing she needed to do was get drunk enough to mope the rest of the night in her daze-induced woes—especially if Sasuke were to ever come around.

_If_… she thought reluctantly, sardonically.

"And what is the problem with that?" Sai asked, confused. "You're now seeing Itachi, are you not?" He asked. His brows furrowed as he raised a finger to the waitress, signaling for another bottle. She nodded in return and walked behind the curtain to place the order.

"Weeeeeeeell…" Sakura emphasized the hesitance of her answer with her drunken enunciation. "…not really." She admitted, but it sounded more like a question than anything else. She didn't know what she was even doing with Itachi—how that all really started.

He had come up to her a day or two after the festival asking to take her out. She had been hesitant at first, because she knew nothing of Sasuke's brother other than what she had seen and heard at school—which was nothing but appraisals. She had blushed and looked shyly away, because it just sounded so…_wrong_ to go on a date with Sasuke's brother. What reason had she not to though? So, she did.

Their date had gone perfectly wonderful; they discussed their origins, their plans for the future, their interests. They matched each other's witty remarks and intellect, and she thoroughly had enjoyed the time they had spent. It was a completely innocent, platonic outing; it was not until one of the following days where she had run, unbeknownst to her, into his room where he stood lo and behold _au naturale_.

And, in her hasty, irrational judgment, where she was hurt and easily brash with decisions, she decided then that it was fine—that it was _okay _to just do whatever she wanted, because there was no point in _not _doing it.

She still wasn't sure if she was wrong to have chosen that path or not.

Sai raised a brow when she didn't say much after that speculation. Apparently she didn't know her situation with either Uchiha.

"When all of it originally started, it was more of a 'benefits' type of thing, I guess." Sakura eyed her meal warily, before pushing the bowl away from her. She decided that she wasn't hungry; now fully regretting buying the untouched ramen. "I was mad at Sasuke for being an asshole, like he always is; but there was something more to it. I felt like there was something else, something big that he was hiding—secrets building upon secrets; lies building upon lies. Kaka-sensei always said to look _underneath the underneath_, but I'm not very good at that. You see, I know when it's happening, I just don't know what _it_ exactly is.

"Maybe it has to do with his clan," she thought aloud. She took a breath and strung together this new, viable tangent; her forefingers came to her brow and she pinched it together in deep thought. "His clan is very secretive, maybe there is so 'coming-of-age' sacramental ritual in that shit scary clan of his and he's finally reached his time for his own performance."

Sai snorted at her ridiculous hypothetical, though the possibility of the clan's council playing a major part in Sasuke's life was extremely likely. Prominent clans like the Uchiha, or even Hyuuga, had very stringent councils that tried to take control of their fellow member's lives for the bettering of their clan's name.

"Anyway," Sakura griped, "I started fooling around with Itachi, which was just a change of scenery for me, considering my entire relationship with Sasuke was based on that as well—no definition, no consolation at all. So I wouldn't exactly know how to define me seeing Itachi."

Sai looked at her, knowing his rebuttal would do no good, but he went ahead with it. "So, why not stop?" He asked, indisputably confused. Why would someone willing continue a cycle of relationships that persistently brought them down and offered them nothing?

Sakura must not have heard him, or chose to ignore the blasphemous thought completely. "I mean, Itachi told me that he was willing to wait for me to accept him instead of Sasuke; but I feel like this won't happen. We're just using each other, I know this. I can accurately, at the very least, hypothesize my own reasons for using Itachi; it's just that I can't even begin to fathom what Itachi's reasons for using me could possibly be."

"How do you know that Itachi is using you?"

She looked away, annoyed. "Sasuke."

"And you don't think he could just be saying whatever he so you stop seeing his brother? You know how easily he gets jealous."

She shrugged. "I don't know."

"So," Sai began, clearing his throat, dissolving the tangent, "you're seeing him," Sai said in a definite tone. "And you started seeing him because you were not achieving the relationship you had desired from Sasuke. Isn't this rather cyclical, Sakura?" He asked. "If you were to eventually stop caring for Sasuke, what makes you think you won't eventually start caring for Itachi? If Itachi is using you as well, once that happens, then you won't have the relationship you will then desire from Itachi."

"I know," Sakura grumbled, she didn't know what she was doing—and, it wasn't like that was any different from before; but it was annoying to keep repeating and repeating the same mistakes. "It's even harder to accept the realization when you're the one in the situation, Sai."

Sai looked away; he couldn't agree more.

She paused.

"Do you think I'm doing all of this," she paused, awkwardly, no matter how she put it, it sounded really bad (because it _was_), "_ehem_…seeing his brother,more specifically, just to get back at Sasuke?" Her mind began to wander on the beaten path of memories of how this whole mess started—why _Itachi _of all people? By all means was he attractive, but he was Sasuke's _brother_.

Never in a million years could she have predicted her life choices taking such a sharp, jagged turn. With brazened high hope, she dreamt of bending that abrupt turn back towards the right direction. However, therein laid the problem: what _was _the right direction?

Not with his _brother_. She was absolutely certain about that. At the same time though, the time she had spent with Itachi had brought about a new light on him—he was an extremely intriguing individual with one of the most complex personalities to dissect; and maybe the hardship of figuring out just exactly _what _his ego was composed of was actually why she kept coming back to him.

At the same time though, he was still Sasuke's _brother_ (she cannot emphasize enough the importance of this factor). Granted, such a menial kinship in the long run shouldn't really determine her future life partner; but she wasn't quite looking for a domesticated relationship as of now (she was still so young and not willing to settle), and… Well, he wasn't Sasuke.

He couldn't compare to the nostalgic history that Sasuke and she shared; and she didn't really think she wanted to give anyone else that opportunity.

It was perpetual deductive reasoning in the most lackadaisical sense—most indirect sense: anyone, other than Sasuke, her _Sasuke-kun_, just wouldn't suffice.

After this whole mess though, she wasn't sure if she actually had the ability to make that choice.

Sai let out a rough sigh. He felt bad that Sakura was so tepid about her entire situation, but she always seemed to be the one that placed herself within them. He wished he could just tell her to open her eyes and look at all the options before her—there were so many better men for her than those Uchiha's. He knew how that clan worked; he narrowed his eyes, he knew all too well. He had seen how many of the men acted, each subject of observation had always manipulated and used their prey until they were bored. Sai shook his head from the thought, he didn't like Uchiha's, but he had never anticipated Sasuke to be much like the rest of them—he had always seemed a bit different, the way he interacted with Naruto and Sakura.

Sai was good at analyzing and reading people—understanding how they functioned and predicting their every action. Throughout the years of knowing Sasuke, he had always seemed to show a genuine care and interest in Sakura; and this is what confused him the most. He had actually believed Sasuke to like Sakura, not just like the idea of having her on the side. That boy had always gone out of the way for her and acted out of his normal character when he was with her. This situation made Sai question just how good he actually was about reading people, because his confidence was now wavering.

Sai poured another bowl for the girl and himself.

"No, because you didn't know he was seeing this woman until after you started seeing Itachi."

Sakura downed the cup's contents and looked at Sai with sad eyes. "I'm not sure what to do, Sai!" She exclaimed, "I don't necessarily think I'm in the wrong for having started whatever this is with Itachi… It's just that I still cared," she paused to correct herself, "well…_care_ for Sasuke—which makes me feel like I'm in the wrong for seeing Itachi."

She paused, making coherence out of her jumbled memories of yesterday. "You should have _seen_ him yesterday, Sai," Sakura breathed out in wonderment. "He scared me—_Sasuke_ scared me. It made me question a lot of things, actually."

"What happened?"

She lifted her leg up slightly, tilting her ankle towards better lighting; it had a purplish-green tinge. "He saw me and Itachi together and then started attacking him—it was as though he was purely _blinded _by rage. I've never seen my Sasuke-kun like that," Sakura mustered, drawing in a sharp breath. She didn't want to think about it.

His dark eyes widened slightly at the sight of her ankle. He bit his tongue; he bit it very, _very _hard—he didn't know an acceptable way to react without over-reacting. He thanked the gods that Naruto was not here at this very moment. "I see…" Sai mumbled, imbibing more of the rice wine. He couldn't even begin to fathom the concept of Sasuke hurting Sakura, it just didn't seem plausible—but, here was viable proof in front of him. He glanced once more at her ankle; he didn't know whether or not he could stomach his repulsion for the Uchiha and the worriment for his friend at this very moment.

Sakura noticed Sai's hesitance in returning to their conversation; it seemed he was still lost in thoughts after having seen her small injury. She bit her lip in beguilement, because she didn't want to go around showing off some wound that she contracted in a cross-fire between two belligerent Uchihas. "What confuses me the most though," Sakura began, thinking aloud, as well as trying to distract Sai from his new world of thoughts. Her fingers gripped her bowl as she desperately sought consolation in another round of sake as she continued, "is that he had come to the festival with another woman, but he also left her to find me."

Sai shook his head free from the ravaging feelings, and onyx met deep green. He shrugged, warily, and took a moment to consider a response. He let out a rough breath, bringing about a new consideration, "Maybe he's the one that is confused, Sakura."

Sakura listened to his words, and thought. "Maybe…" She said hesitantly, reluctantly—it was plausible, but she didn't like the idea of the fault for their argument and dilemma now having fallen solely into her hands. She reiterated herself, "maybe."

They sat on their respective bar stools silently for several minutes, openly enjoying the silence that greeted them; each lost in their own omnipotent universe of thoughts. Briskly, they imbibed more of the alcohol once they realized Ayame had set the last ordered bottle in front of them. As Sai removed the over-turned bowl that was used to keep the heat from escaping the bottle, he poured two more.

Each one stared into their glasses, not with hesitation, but with a semi-forlorn, semi-accepting gaze. Sai took his bowl eagerly and downed its entire content in one swift gulp. He then looked at Sakura and pointed to her. The way he haphazardly swayed as he pointed an accusatory finger at the pink-haired girl let her become fully aware of how drunk they both had become.

She gulped, knowing what was about to come next—an analysis of the human ego in relative dissonance to interaction and reaction with conscious relations. She could not handle a humanistic philosophy lecture from an egregiously drunk Sai in her current state of inebriation, especially when it was bound to be supported with a reprimanding tone.

"Sakura, I am only going to tell you this once," Sai said, his tone changing from a light-hearted friend to a serious (_drunk_)counselor, "because this is something you have to choose whether or not you want to _actually _listen to."

She gave him a peculiar look; a fixated expression that juxtaposed being annoyed and intrigued. She knew that there was no point in trying to stop the determined boy from giving his life-lesson speech, and she also knew that he was giving this to look out for her.

She knew he was going to be right—about everything.

She just didn't want to acknowledge it, or accept it.

Whichever.

"You were never meant to be with either one of those boys," he deadpanned in a matter-of-fact way, there was no pity, no regret in his tone—he was almost _enthused_ by the fact that she shouldn't see Sasuke.

She ignored the thought; she was drunk, she didn't need to start being _too _observant. That would confuse her even more about her relations to people, in general; and that was the last thing she currently even needed to consider.

"You weren't meant to be with either them, but I know you," he sighed, "I know you will pursue whatever it is that you want until you get it—there's no stopping you. And, both Sasuke and Itachi play vital roles in bringing about your negative emotions; and, most importantly, they only know how to take. No matter how much you give to them, they can only give so much back—no matter how much they try."

Sakura bit her lip and averted her eyes to her bowl of sake. She wouldn't concede to the accuracy of his statement—she refused to.

"Now I'm not here to guide you towards the path you should take, control your decision, or even try to consider stopping you; but I'm placing this ominous caveat in front of your face, here and now," he warned. There was a moment where Sai paused, waiting and searching for her apple-green eyes. Once he discovered the shining chasms, he asked, "do they make you feel like a better person, or are you the one making them a better person?"

He didn't wait for an answer.

"How often do you argue with Sasuke—how often does this leave you worn and dazed? Eventually you are going to be in a worse position than you have already been in…" Sai grimaced for a short second before he pointed at Sakura's bruised ankle and ego, "look at this—what man in their right mind could ever hurt a woman like this—?"

"It was an accident!" Sakura shouted, her words slightly slurred, as she tried to defend the younger Uchiha.

"Nonetheless, I, nor Naruto, would ever even put you in a position like that." Sai argued, frowning.

Sakura brushed off his comment. "Sasuke-kun isn't like you two."

"Clearly," Sai snidely remarked. He waited a moment before correcting himself, "_Thankfully_."

The pink-haired girl, in her drunken stupor, was growing rather agitated. She knew that Sai was right, but he was being rather abrasive with his lecture. She was not in the mood for such a dramatic life lesson right now about the choices she hadn't even made yet. Sakura opened her mouth, her tone dragged on with venom underlying the name, "Sai-kun…" His name rang with caution from her lips.

She didn't even realize it; but, he did.

Sai paused at the suffix and looked at her. His eyes exuded an emotion Sakura had never seen before in him, it almost seemed despondent in regards to being almost…hurt? Sakura scrunched her eyes and tried to think of what she could have possibly done to make Sai look at her with such confused, emotion-filled eyes. However, she couldn't pinpoint anything; in turn, she rolled her eyes at her dumbfounded friend and was about to tell him to stop when he made a ticking noise in the negative.

"Just listen—let me finish, Sakura-chan," Sai said, holding his hand up, all while smiling. "How do you know that Sasuke's relations with this woman are not far more intimate than he was ever with you, or that he will ever confide with you?"

"I wouldn't think—"

"What if you end up sleeping with Sasuke's brother, when all you and Sasuke needed was some time apart to figure things out?"

Sakura blushed, flustered by Sai's impetuous suggestion. She growled, conservatively, "I would never!"

Sai eyed her.

"Inebriation lowers inhibitions," he chided. "I'm not saying you would ever plan to; but people do dumb things sometimes, Sakura."

She said defiantly, angry at the potential accusation, "I wouldn't."

"Good; but, let's say the situation comes about—what if Itachi doesn't actually care about you, and you sleep with him to spite Sasuke?" Sai asked. "I just want you to think about this: Are you sure that you want your odds of a contented future to lie in the hands of two rival brothers?

"Are they really worth your time?"

She thought.

She was drunk.

So, she thought _really_ hard.

Sakura dumbly smiled as a pathetic attempt at an answer. "I'm not sure."

"You are always over-looking your own needs because you are too blinded by your naïve desires," Sai chastised. "Take Naruto, for example; that boy was in love with you for years, would carry the moon across the entire worlds—three times—for you. He still would." Sai let out an exasperated sigh; it held a tinge of sadness, aggravation. "He had to accept the fact that you cannot see him because you have your priorities—which everyone does, so you're not really being selfish in comparison to the next person. It's just," he paused, fumbling for the right words to use, "well… These priorities form who you are, so you can't really help it at all.

"You look for what your idealized mold has been fitted for seeking out; and only that, or better, will do."

"Philosophy 101 with Professor Sai," Sakura mumbled under her breath, snidely.

He ignored her. "There is no such thing as a prince charming, Sakura. We all have our faults, and it seems that you are starting to see that in both of yours."

"I can't help it," Sakura groaned. "They're just pretty; and, there's something…there's just something about Sasuke, my Sasuke-kun, that will always have me wondering."

"Stop fretting, you can't change a person; you just have to learn to accept all of their acquiescent flaws. If you are set on your desires, only experience will eventually lead you to what you truly want."

"Huh…" Sakura said, thinking about his last sentence.

Sai shrugged. "I wish that I could just tell people how everything works and they would just abide to my warnings; but life doesn't work like that—_people_ don't work like that. It seems that people need experience to _truly _understand the warnings, and, without that, all I tell them is…" he thought, "…just tell-tale horror stories."

Sakura grabbed the sake bottle and poured two more bowl, finishing off the liquor's content. "Thank you, Sai-kun," she slurred, absurdly merrily and just as sadly.

He didn't look at her this time; he couldn't. He wished she would realize what she was doing with his name and just stop. She was drunk and he didn't need her to add such a suffix. He didn't want to hear a suffix that was not meant.

"People never know what they want, Sakura; but they always feign what they do."

The hollow sound of footsteps rang in the back of her mind. She looked around, yet saw nothing.

Yup. She was drunk.

"Sai…" She doesn't say anything for a couple minutes, enjoying the numbing feeling of the sake in her body.

"What am I supposed to want, then?"

He continued, "It takes people years, sometimes an entire lifetime, to figure it all out; but, once you figure it out, you'll be happy." Sai placed down a handful of money and motioned the waitress to pick up the bill and her tip. The boy stood up and looked down at the young girl in front of him, drunk and dazed off life and its bitter reality. He frowned with a morbid curiosity to how far her mind had travelled in his message.

His fingers reached out to her alcohol-induced blushed cheeks and stroked away a small piece of hair. He didn't say anything as she watched him silently in awe. He blushed, agitated, and turn away.

The footsteps were louder.

Sai looked to his left and nodded in recognition and acknowledgement. A curtail response was returned. Sai looked back at Sakura who was slowly turning around to see who Sai had initially greeted. When Sai watched her eyes reach their target, he tousled her hair in one last friendly gesture before turning to leave.

"Just try not to take an entire lifetime, hag," he whispered for her and her alone.

"Sakura."

All she could see was Sai's back as he slowly walked away from her and the small ramen stand; all she could see were deep onyx eyes warily, angrily watching Sai's form disappearing into the darkening evening; and, finally, all she could see were those deep orbs meeting her own.

"Sasuke-kun."

* * *

**End of Chapter 6**

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**Author's Note**: Reviews are appreciated! I like to hear your opinions, constructive criticisms, conversations, and input!

**P.S.**: Lol. If you don't like the way my characters act, sucks-you can stop reading if you so choose, I'm not forcing you to read any of this. They will eventually mature and realize their actions, but that's a key factor to writing a story. I'm still gonna do what I want with them. I think their actions are very realistic and reactive. Plus, I can do what I want. :D

EWHH its Kenna


	7. Take 7: Marion Sunshine!

**Disclaimer:**I don't own Naruto

**Author's Note**: ERMERGERD ITS SASUSAKU

**P.S.: **I'm changing my account name soon. Just so you know. :) Sorry it took so long, too. The chapter has been done for quite a while; I just hadn't gotten around to editing it for a while, too.

* * *

**Stereotyping Uchiha's.**

Approximate Sunlight

* * *

...

...

Here he was; standing right in front of her.

She breathed. She didn't know what to do. So, she did the first thing that came to mind.

"Uh." She couldn't fathom where to begin; the sentences and apologies and explanations running through her mind were completely jumbled, leaving her utterly flabbergasted by the entirety of the situation.

He was here.

He read her text message.

He came.

She had completely forgotten by the end-point of her conversation with Sai that she had even invited Sasuke—mainly due to the fact that the last thing she had even expected him to do was actually show up.

Damn, she should have checked her phone. She could have at least semi-prepared for the situation by not drinking as much.

She smiled dumbly, yet she refused to face him. "Hi," she sputtered out, finally mustering the courage to say _something_. Her fingers itched for some form of distraction, so she hurriedly began to trace the rim of her sake bowl. Her gaze remained fixated on the small ceramic as she heard him take a seat in Sai's previous spot.

He disregarded her attempt at a greeting and noted the drunken blush which resided on her face. Sasuke sighed in annoyance, understanding how much more difficult their communication was going to be for resolving their issue. Sakura was never a fan of confronting dramatic arguments when she was drunk. In fact, almost every time she would drop the argument entirely and get to the point of the resolution; otherwise, in her very few instances, she would become obdurate and belligerent, where only she could be right. He could only hope that today wasn't going to be the latter.

"Shochu." Sasuke ordered in an extremely demanding tone. He needed to at least make an attempt to get near her state if they wanted to communicate on the same level. He was not a man to usually resort to such vices, primarily because he was more so a lightweight in comparison to Sakura (to blame was her guardian, Tsunade's, habits). He nodded his head in the negative, correcting himself, "just bring out three."

Sakura's hands were now in her lap, thumbs eagerly fiddling with one another. "I'm sorry," she mumbled, nearly inaudible. It seemed she still wasn't quite ready to face him, this surprised him considering alcohol normally presented boisterous, courageous characteristics within its imbiber.

Ayame placed the glasses in front of the young Uchiha and smiled. He placed some money on the table, implicating that he didn't want to leave an open tab, and he picked up the first glass. He nodded in thanks to the brown-haired waitress and lifted up the glass to his lips. Readying himself for the strong liquor mixture, he took a deep inhalation, in turn scrunching his face at its bitter aroma. He opened his mouth and finished the cup in turn. In the midst of trying to finish his first glass, he had sneaked a quick glance at the pink-haired girl. He choked a bit on the liquor when his eyes met large, shining emeralds; he wasn't expecting her to be looking at him just yet—especially with that…look.

He averted his eyes and gulped the rest of the concoction down. Letting out a deep breath as he placed the cup back in its originating spot, he waited in the silence he knew she would break.

"I'm _sorry_, Sasuke-kun."

With his hand on the second cup, he took a small sip, placed it down, and then looked at her, acknowledging what she said.

Sakura bit her lip in anticipation. To her, he looked absolutely cool, collected; however, in his mind, he had spent the past hour and a half trying to figure out exactly how this entire situation was going to pan out. He didn't expect her to text him and try to resolve things so quickly, nor did he expect her to still be at Ichiraku, drunk, and waiting for him. And, well… Out of all of the anticipated scenarios that had played out in his mind, this was definitely not one of them: walking into the ramen stand with a drunken Sai and even drunker Sakura, followed by Sakura unreservedly flustered and hurriedly apologizing to him.

_Why Sai_? The thought came abruptly and then left just as quickly. It didn't matter; Sai was just another character that he could easily dismiss in regards to his situation with Sakura.

In actuality, he had been fully expecting her to be waiting, austerely composed with a cocky grin, forcing him into some half-assed apology that she would, in frustration, finally accept. Then, they would easily forget about the whole ordeal.

Meh.

Whatever worked.

He shrugged to himself. _This is easier, anyway. _

He took another sip and finally looked at her. The words were on the tip of his tongue sugar-coated with light hesitation; he knew he would be instigating her by saying it, but he felt as though he couldn't really help it. A measly apology wouldn't suffice, he wanted more from her than that—he just didn't know exactly what he was looking for.

"You're not."

The main problem he was having was that he didn't quite know what she could say that _would_ be enough. That she didn't like Itachi? That she wanted to be with him? That she _needed_ him?

Sakura's brow furrowed at his response, not fully comprehending what he had just said to her. Did he really just refute her apology, calling it insincere and a _lie_? Why would he think she was lying to him? _Why _would she invite him over here to have this discussion, if she planned on _lying _to him?

But, most of all, why didn't he believe her?

He felt compelled to finish his entire glass when he saw how confused and taken aback she looked in regard to his response. He had thought she would have had a witty retort for him to explain why she was sorry, not a genuinely hurt look.

He averted his eyes in: shame? aggravation? Something of both, he assumed.

"I _never_ would want to hurt you, Sasuke-kun," Sakura grumbled, her confidence completely annihilated with his last response.

His ego felt stricken by her words. _Hurt_? Did she think he was some overly sensitive man or something? "Why do you think that you being with him would _hurt_ me?" He scoffed with a slight jeer.

His head was filled with a composure that was only meant for prideful situations; ego-inflated to defend some non-existent basis. "You're not my girlfriend." His tone was like ice, each word mutually piercing loosely sutured hearts. "If you want that bastard—" Sasuke frowned; he didn't know why he was saying all of the wrong things—_encouraging_, even. He was sitting here, demanding of her all of the things that created this dilemma in the first place. "—it's fine by me."

It was the venom underlying each syllable of his next sentence that caused Sakura to choke on her breath, and he to bite his tongue a little too hard. He was not the slightest fazed by the iron taste that slowly filtered onto his taste buds; not at all. No; he deserved it, even.

"_Fuck_ him for all I care."

He deserved it when he let his tongue crochet such hollow, suicidal lies—all in attempts to salvage his evanescent, worthless ego that seemed to had disappeared some time ago with his pathetic integrity.

He finished his second glass and slammed it down. He looked behind the counter until he saw the young waitress and indicated for Ayame to bring two more—just in case. He didn't know why he was getting so riled up, so _defensive_ all of a sudden. He was absolutely livid with Sakura for choosing his brother (of _all _people), but here he was telling her to _go for it_. He didn't understand why he kept digging a deeper and deeper grave.

"Just don't come crying to me when you realize he doesn't give a shit about you."

Sakura bit her lip, anger and dejection combating with one another.

_You're not my girlfriend. _

_You're not my girlfriend._

_"__Fuck_ him for all I care." 

You're not my girlfriend.

It kept replaying in her mind. Of course, she knew that they weren't in a relationship. It was just, well… The reiteration was completely unnecessary and made the situation even more real—the reason for their fight becoming more alveolate, even more non-existent.

He told her to _fuck_ him.

She never thought...

She never would have thought for Sasuke to go that far—to not care _that_ much. First he was sitting here lecturing her that Itachi would never even _fathom_ having the slight inclination of feelings towards her; and now, in all of his reckless glory, he had the audacity to tell her to sleep with his brother.

How...

How could she have been such a fool?

Her hand placed itself upon her left breast. She felt like she was drowning, choking on some malevolent acid that burned down her esophagus and hemorrhaged her heart—she couldn't swallow, she couldn't breathe, and she couldn't feel that _beat, beat, beating _anymore. _  
_

"I didn't..." Sasuke began, but he didn't know where to end. _I didn't mean that_. It seemed that it was a bit too late for that attempt; and, well, he had meant _some _of it—like, one and a half parts of it (the not being his girlfriend and Itachi not caring part).

He didn't..._what_? Sakura thought, waiting with high hopes for the rest of his explanation; to no avail, however, did the sentence unfold.

"Fuck," Sasuke muttered, taking the silence as an opportunity to run a hand through his tangled hair and massage his scalp.

She refused to cry in front of him.

She narrowed her eyes and spoke more definitely, her courage being rekindled by his unexpected, _undeserved_ abrasiveness. She glowered at his sour expression as he began sipping on his shochu and grabbed his extra glass. She took a large swig and slammed the cup down in front of him. "I _know_ I'm not your girlfriend, Sasuke-kun," she growled, an awkward, blistering pain apparent in her voice, "but I only want you."

He almost dropped his cup.

"I only want _you_; I don't want your brother, I don't want Sai, I don't want Naruto…—I don't want any other boy!" She huffed out the last segment of her sentence with an unwavering assertion. "I only want _you_," Sakura reiterated for the final time.

He didn't expect any of it.

But, most of all, he didn't know how to react to those words. Some part of him felt like he should be elated, to a certain extent, finally hearing those words he has been searching for all these years—that she wanted to be with him; but, he just couldn't figure it out...

He couldn't figure out how to muster up the courage for a response.

So, he took another moment to let her words sink in, as well as the alcohol; and, finally he nodded.

"Why him, _of all people, _Sakura?"

She looked down. "Of course, not," she whispered to herself, not caring to whether or not he heard her. His question was completely justifiable.

But, it hurt even more than seeing him with another woman, than every argument they've ever had compiled together, that _this_ was his reaction and response to her confession.

She guessed she would just have to blame that small truth as gilded drunkenness tomorrow.

He took another sip, inwardly cursing at himself for his curiosity and lack of response; as he dutifully waited on her to fix everything that he had equally messed up. It was selfish, maybe; but it was also the only way he knew how to find succor in his contentment.

He knew that she had the capabilities of fixing it, just like she fixed everything else.

"I thought it didn't matter," she spitefully contorted, rolling her eyes. He had struck a match against the kindled flame that had been eating away at her prerogative; he didn't deserve to know why she chose Itachi. In spite, she felt the strong compulsion to _lie. _An itching desire to make him jealous, to tell him Itachi was more attractive and smarter and sweeter and more of a man and, most of all, he _knew _how to please a woman.

He eyed her, cautiously, as he finished off his next cup. He longingly watched as Ayame took her time replacing the empty cups with two new glasses.

_No_... Sakura thought, guilt weighing on her conscience. _Lying will only make this worse_.

She _hated_ that she cared about him enough to not lie to him—to not hurt him like he had hurt her.

She bit her lip, taking a moment to ponder the multitudes of thoughts as she tried to come up with the most logical reasoning she could. Why Itachi? She had never really taken an actual gander to the reasoning behind her actions. By the time it had happened, it was already too late and just too _wrong_. It was as though she had ignorantly placed herself within a bad situation, so she had simply accepted it and continued on with her choice.

Was it because he looked similar to Sasuke? She furrowed her brow in contemplation. He _resembled _Sasuke, but Itachi did not actually look like his younger brother. There were very apparent traits that completely distinguished one brother from the other. They were both very handsome men, just in different ways.

Maybe, just maybe…

It was their eyes; those same eyes that he and Sasuke shared. They held some enigmatic curiosity that plagued their onlookers, making them fall completely captive to their impossible puzzle. Those same eyes that were as black as the night, but held so many emotions and words that they themselves could never manage to articulate.

In the end, though, Sakura admitted to herself (and subtly to Sasuke), that she had absolutely no reason at all to why she had chosen Itachi.

Taking a deep breath, the chilling breeze slightly sobering her up, she deftly uttered under her breath, "because he was there, and so was I."

He felt like he should have been relieved, in the slightest degree, that she hadn't formulated any reason for being with Itachi; but he found that he wasn't. She had admitted to him that it could have been anyone, and it seemed that Itachi had just appeared at an unfortunately convenient time. He didn't find any contentment in this new-found knowledge, though.

He was even more aggravated than before, because she shouldn't be looking at _anyone _other than him.

Through all the years of knowing her, he had developed some invisible claim on her. It had never come to his attention that they wouldn't always have such a simple _happy-go-lucky_ type of relationship. For years, they had been merry and together (in the non-defined sense). She had never talked to any other guys, nor he to girls. With this, he never felt the need to consider a situation like the one they were in now; because he never imagined a...a _change_ in their implicated relationship.

Maybe he imagined the implication, though.

Maybe without a defined relationship, they were just one too many shades of grey.

He looked at her, lost in the glistening film over her unruly green eyes, and he grimaced. He hated being fully aware of the fact that the lustrous gleam in her eyes wasn't caused by the alcohol, but something much more poignant and hardening than that. Sasuke knew she had been fighting those damned tears—the tears that were only meant for him. And, having that knowledge tore something inside of him, hollowed his gut and cauterized the arterial streets to his heart.

Maybe...

Maybe he didn't deserve her.

Maybe he should let her go; give her the opportunity to find someone that would constantly make her laugh and smile and be _happy_.

But he scoffed at the thought.

Maybe he didn't deserve her at all; but he would be damned if he were to let anyone else have her.

Even after all his contemplation, Sasuke could not find an appropriate response to utter to her, once again. "Hn."

It was obvious that he was still enraged at her, himself, or Itachi—she couldn't quite place it; but that didn't really matter. He was eyeing her with contempt, trying to disassociate himself from his consciousness so he could be a spectator of their tepid situation. Her answer proved nothing to him, because regardless of whatever she would say, he would still despise the outcome. It was a valid enough reason, because he didn't exactly know what he was expecting her to reply with—was there really any response that could have lightened the situation? He didn't think so.

However, looking at it in a different aspect, he reluctantly viewed her answer as one of the best ones he could have received—that it could have been anyone; but Itachi was just the first one at the scene. Either way, though, wasn't there a limit? This was his _brother_, for the gods sakes! He had thought Sakura to be better than that.

Did he really have the right to lay an invisible claim on her, when there was never anything serious to begin with? _You are not my girlfriend. _The words kept replaying in his mind—why did he say that? It only made matters worse in trying to resolve an argument that he had just completely denied with that statement. They were never in a relationship, so she didn't necessarily have any limitations to seeing anyone else—but, his _brother_..!

Maybe, she thought it didn't matter to him.

He ignored the question and its answer entirely. His trains of thoughts were finally broken by her sniffling. Pursing his lips together, he looked at the girl in front of him. Why did she do these things to him? He should be furious right now—at the very least yelling at her—_not_ sympathetic. Bewildered by the many different emotions wracking his mind, Sasuke ran a hand through his raven locks, massaging his scalp in the process. He disregarded the already drunken feeling that was surging through his body; he needed to finish another drink—that would help him figure these things out.

It had to.

Maybe after a couple more he would actually be able to figure out a response.

He heard her whimper.

"Why _her_?"

He chose to play dumb.

"Who?"

"Sasuke," she whispered; it was a desperate plea for him not to do _that_—to act like there wasn't another woman, to act like she didn't _see_ him and Ino together. "The pretty blonde woman," Sakura mustered out. Maybe her hair color was too unnatural and ridiculous for Sasuke, or even the clan—whichever one who didn't particularly like her.

He couldn't tell whether or not there was a hint of self-loathing in her tone, but he was pretty sure of it. "She's just a friend," he countered, easily, casually. His eyes glanced over the small ramen stand, hoping that there was something—_anything_—that could salvage him from this conversation.

"Why do you persist on lying to me, Sasuke-kun?"

_Stop saying my name like that_. He groaned and looked at the counter top. He didn't deserve the suffix, not when he constantly said the wrong things and lied.

She drawled, "Sasuke-kun..?"

He just loved how his name fell so easily off her tongue. _Gods, stop saying my name like that_.

Onyx met her glimmering green orbs as he struggled to fight his many urges—to yell at her for having thoughts of his brother, to confess to her his entire situation and ask her for forgiveness, to touch her and kiss her and tell her that she belonged to him and only him.

He did none of these.

As fast as their eyes had made contact, he quickly averted them; instead choosing to stare at his own reflection in the cold glass. He couldn't deal with those eyes right now—not when he was mad and they were arguing and he was now feeling drunker than she was.

She was still idly sipping on the glass she had stolen from him earlier, but he didn't seem to care. His mind was in a completely different place at the moment. Her lips smacked together when she finished off the glass and set it down, feeling her current drunken stupor was suffice and she needn't anymore alcohol. "Sasuke-kun," she again drawled, her tongue clicking very audibly with her enunciation of the suffix—he softly shuddered in turn.

_Gods, why does she do this to me_.

"What can she give you that I can't?"

At this moment, Sasuke let out a breath he hadn't known he had been holding. He made sure to finish off his drink and slowly set his glass upon the counter before he dared look at her. Cautiously, silently, he tilted his head in her direction. He was greeted by her brilliant eyes, wide as saucers and glossed-over—captivating in their own unique way. He refused to appreciate them in this moment, considering they were supposed to be arguing and they were by no means helping him with his case.

But, they were never really good at arguing—those two. It was adventurous, yet treacherously cyclical. Their arguments always started off by one of them over-reacting to something (because of a lack of communication), then someone would apologize or they would eventually forget about it. They just never seemed to be able to figure out how to end the pattern, either. They couldn't when they were always running back to each other.

"Mou," she mewled, "you know I don't like when you ignore me, Sasuke-_kuuuun_."

He hated when she'd resort to such sly tactics.

"It's not that." Sasuke shrugged, indifferently. He couldn't tell her that Ino was his fiancée. He couldn't do that to her, not when he had already said so many other things he shouldn't have.

_You're not my girlfriend._

___Fuck him for all I care. _

_Fuck. _Sasuke thought, angry at himself and the statement's poignancy.

___You're not my girlfriend._

He hated that realization—and it kept hitting him, harder and harder, with each glass he had drunk.

"She blackmailed me into going with her, a few weeks back," he lied.

Sakura eyed him, warily.

He looked away and took another gulp from his shochu. He knew that she knew he was lying; but, he also knew that she would shrug it off and let him have it. Out of her good-heartedness and desperate hope for a happily ever after, she wanted to believe him; so his answer was good enough.

"Oh," she responded, quietly. Her eyes lowered and her thumb fiddled the hem of her skirt. "Well it was kind of you to keep true to your word." She guessed.

"Aa," he grunted, not really wanting the conversation to continue further. He could hear the hurt in her voice, regardless of her pathetic attempt at trying to sound unconcerned.

Sakura abruptly stood up, swaying a bit as she managed her way out of the stool. "I'm glad we made these clarifications then, Sasuke-kun," she sighed, blatant disappointment present in her tone. This conversation hadn't gone any of the ways she had intended for it. She wished he could have given her a real reason for him going with her; but there was no way of pilfering the truth from him. Maybe he was trying to protect her from the obvious.

She said with a large smile, "I hope I can call you friend once again."

He felt his stomach drop when he saw her smile. It was the first time he had ever seen a smile like that upon her lips, and it made him extremely uneasy.

It reminded him of Sai.

He rushed to follow her actions, before she disappeared on him, by standing and mimicking the same drunken stupor. He eyed her, suspiciously; he did not enjoy the way her words sounded so empty, so…_platonic_. He felt, however, that it also couldn't really be helped. So he shook his head when she began walking off and hurriedly grabbed her wrist.

She didn't turn around, and he didn't expect her to.

Sakura bit her lip as the silence continued and he held her wrist in a vice-like grip. She knew he wasn't going to let her go, literally and metaphorically. It was as though her heart had sunk into her stomach, Sai's premonition haunting her thoughts. It was all too cyclical; she had to feign forgiveness for the young Uchiha as he walked away, guilt-free.

"Stop," she whispered, _pleaded_, into the air, the words reaching nothing but the dry evening skies. With absolutely no conviction, she lightly tried to tug her arm free of his grip—the action was supposed to say something, but they both knew better. "Sasuke…" The way she said his name this time was so dismissive, but all too surrendering, as well.

_You're not my girlfriend._

She wanted to cry, because she was too hopeful for why he stopped her—maybe it's different this time, _maybe he wants to_…

She refused to cry; instead, she bit her lip harder and her eyes stared despairingly at the ground. When she saw his feet next to hers, she finally looked up, stifling a small laugh that threatened to escape when she saw his blushing cheeks—she would blame it solely on his drunkenness.

She looked up, trying to search those dark eyes for whatever he was hiding from her—his emotions, his thoughts, the _truth_. Regretfully, she deciphered none of these concepts; in response, giving a irked, wearisome sigh.

When he heard her sigh of surrender, he effortlessly tugged at her wrist, leading her in the opposite direction of the small ramen stand.

And, he knew this didn't make up for any of the things he had done; but, it was his attempt at trying.

"I'll walk you home."

Sakura gave him a small, trying so hard to form smile, understanding his actions—because this was Sasuke-kun and he didn't have the words which she so desperately craved.

Because this was Sasuke-kun and this was him trying for her.

He didn't really offer her a choice to accept his actions or not, the way he was tugged at her with a steadfast mind of never letting go. Though he was a neanderthal when it came to the human vernacular and he was slower than Naruto when it came to comprehending relationships, she knew there was still something there—something for her.

Be it as a friend for now, maybe one day they could grow into something more.

She fell into pace with him and wiggled her hand into his. He tugged away at first, surprised by her actions; however, he chose to claim ignorance. He said nothing and pretended to ignore how warm his hands felt. The only reaction he gave her was a pathetic attempt at an annoyed look for her childish behavior before averting his eyes, desperately searching for any form of distraction.

He found none.

Sasuke quickly side-glanced at a dazed Sakura, her hand lightly holding his and her gaze fixated on what was in front of them. He wanly considered how at least one of them was focused on their future. Before he could continue on with his too many thoughts (_where does this leave us? what do i do? should i say something? do i have to?_), she broke their calming silence.

Her words sang a bittersweet tune to him, blistered yet genuine, "Thank you, Sasuke-kun,"

But, she didn't smile.

...

...

* * *

...

...

"It's so…plain," Ino said as she stared in admiration at the room which encompassed her. She took a moment to revel in the thought of attempting to enjoy room of such solitude; however she couldn't fathom it. She took a seat upon the comfortable bed and breathed in the scent of his room. "How can someone live in such a boring bedroom?" She wondered aloud. There was a limited amount of furniture, save a desk with a chair, the bed, a couple lamps, and then two nightstands. In comparison to the size of the room, his choice of décor made it feel too spacious, too empty. No picture frames, no posters, _nothing_. She lied on her back, facing the ceiling with a bored look.

She and Sasuke were supposed to go on a date tonight. Dinner reservations had been made for six and she has been waiting in his house for about half an hour. It was now past six. She checked her phone once more, a habit which she attained out of boredom. She didn't expect it to be any different from the last time she checked her phone—five minutes ago.

She huffed an exasperated sigh and quickly jumped off the bed, flustered.

Though Sasuke was not much of a conversationalist, he still usually had the decency to at least reply to her. It wasn't like the Uchiha to not respond, yet he aimed to surprise her with a different circumstance each time. She had sent him three text messages thus far, and still to no avail had a response arrived. Could something have happened to him? He usually at least would give her a detailed schedule of his day, normally. Maybe he was with that blond dork, Naruto.

Glancing around, looking for some form of entertainment, she decided to explore. Maybe she could find out more about her fiancée through small tokens of nostalgia he was sure to have. In doing so, she'd be able to at least plan for future birthday presents and dates. With a disappointed look, she started her adventure with the first piece of furniture in the room. She walked up to his desk and shuffled through the stack of papers atop it. She sighed in annoyance when she discovered them all to be only graded papers and terribly scribbled notes. She found it peculiar that he had terrible hand-writing. With that ego of his, she would have pinned him to be one of those perfectionists at _everything _he did—from crocheting to gaming.

Ino set the papers back on the desk, checked her phone again to reveal no messages, and then opened the drawer to left. She smiled in triumph when she found a thin book. Lanky fingers gripped onto the spine of the small book as she lifted it from its confines. She took a seat in the desk's chair and set the book upon the table.

She opened the cover.

"I see my brother is not home yet," a voice prodded from behind her.

"Shit!" Ino jumped in shock, completely unaware of the man having been there. She turned around, her expression completely flustered, and looked at the man, mouth twitching. "How long have you been there?" She asked, adrenaline still high. Her mouth hung open, lungs trying to steal in gluttonous intakes of air—_Gods!_ Was this man trying to give her a _heart attack_?! She felt paralyzed and absolutely dead. If she didn't shut her mouth soon, she was sure she'd start drooling.

"Not long," Itachi coolly replied, shrugging off her demeanor as though it were a normal reaction to him. He did take a second to regard him sneaking up behind her. Granted, he didn't actually _sneak_, per se, but his step was graceful enough to keep from making a sound. He didn't necessarily care about scaring her though, he felt his grace was a talent—a perfected mannerism—more than anything else. His eyes narrowed. Her reaction did help explain why that Naruto kid always called him "creepy," though. _That moron_.

Itachi, still deep in thought on this new tangent, disregarded Ino's presence, and chose to stare off.

In this silence, Ino took it as a moment to fully compose herself. Noisily clearing her throat, Ino sent him a cocky, sultry look. "Oh," a grin plastered itself on her plump lips, "drinking me in, I see." She laughed at herself, awkwardly, when she didn't receive a reply from the older Uchiha. _Of course he wouldn't reply_, Ino thought dumbly. _Another man-of-few-words… Great_. She inwardly scowled at the fact that both Uchihas seemed to be absolutely handicapped at maintaining a conversation, let alone a small banter of playful words.

He ignored her chagrin remark, resisting the urge to roll his eyes at her _femme fatale_ approach she was trying to display, and took note of the book she had opened. "My brother seems to be running rather late, is he not?" He asked—though, all in all, it was moreover a statement than anything else. He already _knew_ that Sasuke had completely forgotten, or [what was even more likely] completely _disregarded _his date with Ino this evening. Itachi just felt it a necessity to emphasize his brother's lack of concern for his fiancee, considering the dramatics would play out rather nicely.

He subtly watched Ino as she began fumbling with the small book in front of her. Why Sasuke kept such a tacky memento in his desk's drawer was beyond Itachi; but it was useful when it came to Ino's snooping. Itachi entertained the thought of Sasuke sitting by his desk every night fondling the handmade book with such unleashed desire. He snorted at the thought, but did not dismiss it as implausible. Sasuke did have his peculiar quirks when he thought to be alone. Processing the woman's initial reaction to the book, Itachi realized how oblivious Ino truly was.

She didn't get it. What exactly the book before her was; what it represented.

"Yes," Ino replied, disgruntlement blatant in her tone. A small '_hmph_' followed her acknowledgment as she spun back around to continue observing her newest Sasuke treasure she found in the drawer. "You need to teach him manners," Ino chastised. "I know _I_ wouldn't let my husband be frolicking around without giving me the slightest indication what for.

"Let alone forget about our date!" Her tone was livid, and there was still a underlying hint of complete disbelief for Sasuke's contingency.

"It seems you haven't started ingraining that ideal in him yet, then," Itachi mused, pointedly.

Ino sighed as she flipped the title page, anticipating what information the book could possibly reveal about her darling _soon-to-be_ lover. "I'll get to it, eventually. Do you know what this—" Ino stopped her question, understanding the rhetoric of it. The book she had opened seemed to have been some sort of photo album. "I never knew Sasuke had such… conventional hobbies," Ino mustered, trying her best to stifle a laugh. "Seriously, _scrapbooking_? No wonder he's so quiet about his likes and dislikes..."

Itachi's brows furrowed. He couldn't believe it.

She _really _didn't get it.

On the first page was a centered picture of a very young looking Sasuke (_so cute!)_, some pink-haired girl (_who the hell has pink hair?)_, and that blond kid, Naruto _(ugh...)_. Surrounding the picture, stickers of Sakura petals and shuriken decorated the rest of the blank page. "TEAM 7" was etched onto the top of the page in rather girly handwriting, nonetheless in pink. _What a lame name... _She thought. They could have at least called their friendship something more convenient, like _The Gang _or something cliche. _  
_

"Sasuke certainly had a more _feminine_ side to him when he was growing up," Ino remarked, "I wonder what happened...?" Ino flipped to the next page, showing more young pictures of the three children, the ratio of Sasuke with that girl in comparison to Naruto was discomforting. Ino narrowed her eyes in analysis. Every picture they were in together, the girl was touching _her _fiancee (granted they were just children and he wasn't her fiancee at the time—_but that's not the point_) and he was _letting _her.

_Pfft_. That harlot.

Itachi bit the inside of his cheek very, very hard. How could that blonde woman legitimately believe that _Sasuke_, an _Uchiha_, had taken the time out of his day to take up a hobby like _scrapbooking_; and, better yet, decorate it with _flowers _and a _pink marker_. Plus the hand-writing was actually legible—_obviously _it wasn't Sasuke.

Her finger twitched and she slowly brought it to the pink-haired girl; it was of a more recent, in comparison, picture of the two. "Who…" She began, annoyance and jealousy filtering throughout the entirety of her body. "Who is this, Itachi-san?" She needed to find out all of the information she could about Sasuke's past.

She had to make sure there weren't any other girls in his life; or, if there were, she would just have to take care of any problems they could pose.

She snorted in disbelief at the crazy thought. Sasuke Uchiha being into some chick that dyed her hair _pink_ and had a five-head and, not to mention, ant-hill tits.

Yeah.

_Right_.

"That's the girl my brother _fawns_ over." Itachi deadpanned, making sure to enunciate the most effective, endearing word.

Ino's eye brow twitched and her jaw dropped.

There was no way.

No freaking way.

Not this chick with _pink_ hair, a _billboard _brow, and _mosquito bites_ for boobs.

Ino laughed. It had to be a joke. "That's funny."

Itachi raised a brow, obvious amusement present in his expression. She didn't believe him? When had he ever told a lie? He tilted his head in consideration, pleading the fifth to avoid its rhetorical answer. Well, more importantly, he had never lied to _her _before. So, she had no reason to doubt his interjections.

Denial was a funny thing, sometimes—apparently enough to laugh about. He guessed.

"Fawns..." Ino repeated to herself, the term not fully sinking in.

She was still laughing.

He contemplated whether or not he wanted to continue his interaction with her, considering his statements weren't as effective as he thought they'd be. He shook his head. _No_, he thought, _she needs to understand for this to work_. He needed to make sure that Ino realized there was a threat to her betrothal to his little brother. If she didn't, there was no way that the marriage would actually work. If she accepted there being another woman, the trust in their relationship would be severed and she would be much more territorial with Sasuke.

He continued.

"You might want to watch out for her if you actually plan on marrying my brother." His work, yet again, seemed to be setting so easily into action. He knew that Sasuke had left long ago to meet up with Sakura. And, those two had a knack for coming up with some pathetic semi-permeable solution for their outrageous arguments; which meant he needed a new plan. And, this…

This was _perfect_.

He knew exactly how everything was going to play out, and it so easily fell into his hands the moment Sasuke lost track of time. _How foolish_, Itachi eerily thought. If Sasuke hadn't been so selfish to indulge in his moments with Sakura, he could have easily avoided this new arising dilemma. If only he had met up with Sakura, apologized, and then came back to take Ino on her date, he could have avoided this whole mess.

After his last conjecture, it seemed to hit her. Slowly, at first; but surely.

"_Fawns_?" Ino baffled, incredulously. "_My _Sasuke-kun loves this…this _billboard-browed freak_?! Look at her forehead!" Ino exclaimed, finger pointing diligently at the picture of a young Sakura's forehead. "_And_, let us not forget, she has fucking _pink_ hair—_PINK_."

Itachi frowned, feeling almost offended. Was she implying he had no taste in women, either? _Eh_... In his defense, he justified the pink hair as being exotic versus anything else.

"To each his own," Itachi dryly responded with a shrug, now clearly bored with the conversation. He didn't expect the blonde woman's reaction to be this…dramatic; but he supposed it would make it all the more fun.

"Where is Sasuke-kun, anyway? He hasn't been responding to me at all and I've been waiting in his _shitty_ boring room for like an hour, or something!" She was fuming, a vein near her temple pulsating. "Why—… Why can't he just _try_…" Ino spat, her anger suddenly fluctuating to an extreme sadness. "We're supposed to be getting married and, for all I know, he's out gallivanting with a harem of obscurely haired women."

Itachi rolled his eyes. He highly doubted that was the case.

Ino was staring at a picture of Sasuke and Sakura from a few years ago; he remembered that day specifically.

...

...

In the picture, they were drunk and grinning like they knew the future. It had been from an early Christmas party—Sasuke had dumb reindeer antlers on the crown of his head, something which surely had been slipped on him at some point in the night; and Sakura had a sparkling red "Santa Clause" hat on. Her hand was tugging at his bicep and she had sneaked him a kiss on the cheek the moment the picture was captured.

It was the first day Sasuke had the gusto to show up to the Uchiha manor awkwardly stumbling and absolutely hammered. It was past midnight when Sasuke had gracelessly knocked on the door several times, because he gave up in his futile attempts at trying to unlock the unlocked door himself. Itachi had greeted him at the door and the smell of too much sake greeted him back.

"Aniki—!"

Itachi hadn't expected that title for years now; he thought it was lost with their constant arguments and pointless banter.

Sasuke had a goofy smile and dumb expression; Itachi remembered how much he appeared like a…a child—blissful and ignorant and higher than cloud nine. He poked Itachi, which in turn led to an extremely peeved look from the older Uchih. "I think I _like _her, aniki."

Surprise was present in Itachi's normally calm demure. "_What_?" He asked, obvious astonishment in his emphasis of the word; plus he was certain he must have misheard.

Sure enough.

"I _like-like _her."

He didn't.

Sasuke never admitted to something like this—especially to _him_.

That's when Sasuke's eyes fluttered shut and his body weight fell into his _aniki_. Itachi, discomforted by the situation, reluctantly accepted the only option he had. He picked his little brother up and carried him off to his room. When he got to Sasuke's room and placed the boy upon the bed, Itachi sat on the bed next to the young boy. He stared at him, curios and confused about everything that had just happened—an eye-crinkling smile, _aniki_, and...I _like _her.

This wasn't his brother.

Itachi narrowed his eyes.

_What made this girl so special_?

...

...

Itachi was brought out of his reminisce when Ino slammed the book shut, her fingers and body shaking—with befuddlement or anger, Itachi couldn't decipher. She had a reason to be utterly confused; the Sasuke she had come to know was nothing like the caricature of him in these pictures—a light demure with a small smile. She had a reason to be completely livid; Sasuke was always hiding his past from her, awkwardly disappearing when they were supposed to be together, and making every obvious attempt that he wasn't wasn't trying for her.

Ino's phone vibrated. She hurriedly, almost excitedly, grabbed for her phone. _At least he finally texted me back_, she thought both wryly and happily. If he had the decency to at least text her back, maybe it could cool her anger a bit. She unlocked her phone and brought up the text messages section.

She stared blankly, but a smile was able to force its way upon her lips.

**TO:**Yamanaka Ino  
**FROM**: Nara Shikamaru  
**SUBJECT:** [No subject]

_Would you like to grab  
some coffee together? _

Ino didn't bother to turn around. She knew Itachi had already disappeared after having revealed Sasuke's mischievous relationship with the pink-haired girl. Itachi was a rather sly character, always being able to make ins and outs in the most opportune moments—without a moment's notice, at that. _Yeah, and always giving people heart attacks..._Ino thought, remembering when he first came into the room. _So sketchy__._

Something in her stomach felt warm as the smile ceased to falter. At least she had someone that she was able to talk to—someone who wanted to spend time with her. She hadn't seen him since he walked her home from the festival. It couldn't hurt to meet up with him in thanks for his previous chivalrous act. Especially considering her fiancee seemed to have completely forgotten, or just didn't care at all, about their dinner date.

Ino sighed. Her chest hurt, but she didn't understand the reason why. It was all too much—Sasuke and some girl in pictures together, smiling; him forgetting about their date tonight, when he was the one whom made the reservations; and, Shikamaru wanting to see her again.

**TO: **Yamanaka Ino  
**FROM:** Nara Shikamaru  
**SUBJECT:** [No subject]

_Yes :)_

It seemed Sasuke would just have to work harder for her; she wasn't easy, nor was this a inconsequential game. They were going to get married, so he needed to at least start making an attempt at building their relationship—she _was _his future wife; be it his choice or not.

She would win this battle, no matter what; and she would have no hesitation in eagerly _smashing _ that pink-haired girl's heart, if she had to.

...

...

* * *

...

...

Once they arrived before her doorstep, she reluctantly removed her hand from his. Sasuke said nothing as she looked at him with an unwavering intrigue. "Where do we go from here?" She asked, not knowing what else to say—not knowing where _they_ were.

He shrugged and awkwardly glanced at his hand; it felt much colder than usual. He flexed it open, stretching out the muscles, then closed it in turn. It was hard to not regard her searching look, the way she was watching him with pleading anticipation.

He sighed.

"Come to my place around noon."

She gave him a peculiar look, confused. "What for?" She was walking to her doorstep while he remained where he stood. She heard him shift slightly, awkwardly; and with her hand on the doorknob, she turned around and waited for his answer.

"I still owe you lunch," he deadpanned as though it were the most obvious answer. It was like he was obliging a contract the way he pointedly shrugged—one he had made with her days ago. "My father will want to meet you, as well."

The empty, fluttering feeling in her stomach came to a shock, considering how much she drunk earlier. She tried to stop the bright smile from appearing on her face, but there was no point in trying to force it away—she couldn't.

So she brilliantly smiled at him and ran down her stoop to the younger Uchiha. She jumped onto him, hugging him, merrily. Not realizing her initial intentions, Sasuke was taken by surprise, his hands in the air as hers wrapped around his neck. Her face buried itself within his nape and he had no choice but to breathe in her scent—rain-soaked lavender bristled with sweet vanilla.

Shakily, realizing his hands were still in the air, he took a deep breath, and lowered them to his sides.

Sasuke's eyes softened before a small, triumphant smirk began forming on his lips.

_Maybe everything would actually work out._

He knew she was trying, the way she would force a smile and salvage their bruised hope; so, he felt the obligation to attempt the same.

His hands lightly touched her sides, slightly returning her gesture.

_Maybe they would work out._

"I can't wait…" She whispered into his chest. He could feel her smile pressing against his warm skin, involuntarily causing him to harden his grip on her sides, pressing her deeper into him.

He was drunk, so he needn't an excuse.

She breathed his scent in, missing everything that it instigated within her—the emotions, the nostalgia, her _Sasuke-kun_. She let her feet fall back to the ground as she looked up at him, still trying to wipe the heavy smile off her face. It was humiliating, in a sense, how much he affected her. Her hands hadn't left from around his neck as he slouched further to support her.

"Can I kiss you, Sasuke-kun?" She asked, slurring a bit.

Sasuke looked away.

_Gods, why did she do these things to him_.

Was it a rhetorical question—was he actually supposed to _answer _her? He couldn't bring himself to give her an answer, because that was just out of the question for his composure and sanity. His brow furrowed as she felt her grip slightly faltering at his avoidance of the answer.

He inwardly growled and brought his hand to her chin, guiding her towards his. Her eyes fluttered closed and, at some point he couldn't recall, so did his; and their lips finally met. He couldn't verbally bring himself to answer her, so this was the only thing he could do without hurting her even further.

The alcohol coursing through their veins only enhanced their longing. He felt as though he were drowning in her, her scent, her taste—her _everything_. His hand locked in her pink hair, causing her to lightly gasp at his roughness. This gave him the opportunity to deepen the kiss, not even bothering to wait for her acceptance. Sakura moaned lightly into his mouth as her hands dropped from his neck, replacing themselves firmly on his biceps. Her tongue glided against his as each eagerly danced a tango they never thought they knew.

As he broke away for air, Sakura caught his bottom lip and lightly nipped at it, causing him to tighten his hand against her waist, pulling her closer to him. Sakura tugged at his right bicep and broke away from his him. He gave her a confused look—a juxtaposed look of needing more and knowing the need to stop. She had an embarrassed smile on her face as she pulled him towards her doorsteps, beckoning him in with light kisses splayed against his neck. He groaned in desire as she flicked her tongue against the exact tender spots she knew he liked.

He followed her in a stupefied trance all the way up to her door. He pushed her firmly into it and dipped down for more. His mouth planted itself on the bottom of her earlobe, whispering things she didn't even care to listen to; because they would only make this moment all the more wrong. She mewled as his tongue dragged down her neck to finally suck at her collarbone. His knee forced itself in between her legs as he shoved up, causing her to gasp even louder, _needier_. She felt him, hard, pressed against the outside of her thigh.

It only made it all the more arousing.

She heard him rest his head against the worn door behind them, and she felt his heavy breaths in the nape of her neck. It was the drunken desperation in his tone, that made her cringe—and want more and happy and sad and every emotion that Sasuke-kun always made her feel—when he hoarsely asked, "Why do you do this to me?" She couldn't tell if he sounded annoyed or deprived; it sounded like both.

"I only want _you_, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke groaned, angry at her and himself. "Don't." He wouldn't be able to stop himself if she kept going, he was too drunk and he didn't want to do anything with her when she was drunk and not ready. She felt his grip on her tighten and his hips press harder into her thigh. "Don't do this to me, Sakura," he _begged_.

Sakura was confused; she didn't understand what he was so upset about. Her fingers trailed lightly from his arms to massage his thick black hair. "Do what?" She asked in a hushed, worried tone. She didn't know what was wrong. Her fingers made soft ministrations on his scalp, softly tugging and scratching away at his sanity. Her lips fell softly against his cheek and she brought one of her hands from his head to guide his face towards hers.

"_This_," he hissed as her lips slowly made their way against his, beautifully hushing away his pleas. He couldn't fight her away from him, the only thing he could do was beg for her to stop before it was too late. She deepened her kiss with him, tongue slickly gliding against his bottom lip, asking for entrance. He reluctantly, desperately, gave in and felt his composure slipping when their tongues met yet again.

In reaction, he pressed more firmly against her once again as she moaned at the feeling of him against her. His fingers began to trickle softly down to her thighs as he fiddled with pushing the length of her skirt up; he needed more, _so _much more. Removing his knee from in between her legs, he replaced it with his hand, barely grazing over the spot he yearned for.

He heard her moan louder when he pulled away from her, her lips still sucking on his bottom one. He shuddered when she let go of his mouth and he heard her turn the door handle. The alcohol was making his head throb with more than he could handle; he couldn't go in there with her—he wouldn't be able to stop, even if she asked.

"Fuck," Sasuke groaned when he felt her hand grip his wrist. She was stumbling into the house, her fingers tickling the inside of his wrist, coaxing him further. Sasuke planted himself to the ground, all the while his mind trying to save itself from the cloud nine she put him in. "Sakura," he warned as he tripped a bit when she tugged him further in.

"Sasuke-kun?" She asked, still unaware of his concern of coming into her house. They were just messing around, like they always used to do, what was wrong with that? He never seemed too uneasy about it before. Sakura furrowed her brows in concentration, trying to figure out everything that was happening. How did they go from arguing to this, once again? Her mind was too fogged from the alcohol, she couldn't even remember everything that had happened in the past few hours.

She needed tea.

Sakura noticed the worry plastered all over his face and composure, from his sucked in lips to his furrowed brow to his shaky body. Concerned, she stumbled a bit back and turned to him, softly touching his cheek. "What's wrong?" She asked, genuinely disquieted by his equanimity. "Are you feeling okay?"

"I…" He paused and shuddered when her other hand placed itself upon his jaw line. He couldn't look her in the eyes, not when she was so out of breath and wide-eyed and beautiful. Sasuke averted his eyes and took a step back. "I need to go."

Her head tilted and she gave him a perplexed look. "Alright," she shyly mustered. Did she do something wrong? She didn't understand why he was so upset to be inside her house. She felt a headache coming about through her dehydration and confusion. What did she do to make him look this distressed? "I'm sorry if I did something wrong," she whispered, looking down in shame; but he had already turn around, heading out the still open door.

"No," he said, shaking his head; but he did not clarify his meaning.

Sakura stood alone in her house, dazed and confused and just too drunk.

"Don't forget." He said, hurriedly, as he faced the opposite way on her stoop. He couldn't bring himself to face her any long, lest he ruin his commiserable attempt at integrity.

She closed her eyes, not really even paying attention to him anymore. She was completely lost in her own drunken stupor, blaming herself for whatever Sasuke had been discontent about. She couldn't remember doing anything wrong. What could it have been?

"Noon."

Sakura looked up, surprised, but he was already gone.

A soft smile splayed itself upon her plump lips.

"Noon," she reiterated, graciously.

...

...

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**End of Chapter 7**

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**Author's Note**: Reviews are appreciated! I like to hear your opinions, constructive criticisms, conversations, and input!

**P.S.**: Sasuke's such a weirdo and has bad hand-writing. Itachi's obliviously creepy. Yeah, what up character flaws.

EWHH its Kenna


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